Customer Reviews

Live Seventy Nine

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I first heard this album (on vinyl) back in 1980 prior to seeing Hawkwind live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Listening to this re-mastered recording brings back the memories of why I have such an enduring fondness for the band. I always wondered why this record was so long in making its way to CD as it captures the essence of the phsychelic space rock experience that is so unique to Hawkwind. From the thumping "Masters of the Universe" to the lyrical futuristic misery of "Spirit of the Age" this album delivers as few other live recordings of Hawkwind can: no off key saxophone from Nik Turner and no muddy vocals/instruments that sound like they were recorded on a dictaphone. Truly a joy to listen to. This album is both a great start for the neophyte or a must have disc for the long time Hawkwind afficionados.

I have started working my way through the Hawk catalog in chronological order. The first 10 albums I've listened to have been really great, and I've rated all of them 5 stars except one which I gave 4, so this one came as a huge shock to me.

The music is beyond terrible. It is essentially strait ahead late 70's British heavy metal with no melody, no hooks, no power, and bloody awful singing...totally without redeeming value. Which is especially disappointing given the fantastic preceding 3 albums with Robert Calvert.

I've read that they were without a record deal at the time, and the only reason they got one from Bronze Records was because of the success of Motorhead. Gerry Bron of Bronze records reminisced, "I don't think we would have signed Hawkwind if it weren't for Motorhead, I can't say I was that interested." So I suppose it's not too surprising that Hawkwind ended up sounding like Motorhead wannabes on this album.

The mastering on the 2009 Cherry Hill/Atomhenge remaster is suitably dreadful. The 1992 Castle release if far far superior in every respect. The 09 version suffers from all the problems of a 'loudness war' remaster (google 'loudness war' for more info), including mastering induced distortion, zero dynamic range, and clipping. In addition, the 09 version has had the bass pumped up and it swamps the mids and highs. It is really disappointing, because the 3 or 4 other Cheery Hill remasters I've heard sound very good.

Recommendations:
Do not buy this record. And if you absolutely must, get the 1992 Castle cd.

I have started working my way through the Hawk catalog in chronological order. The first 10 albums I've listened to have been really great, and I've rated all of them 5 stars except one which I gave 4, so this one came as a huge shock to me.

The music is beyond terrible. It is essentially strait ahead late 70's British heavy metal with no melody, no hooks, no power, and bloody awful singing...totally without redeeming value. Which is especially disappointing given the fantastic preceding 3 albums with Robert Calvert.

I've read that they were without a record deal at the time, and the only reason they got one from Bronze Records was because of the success of Motorhead. Gerry Bron of Bronze records reminisced, "I don't think we would have signed Hawkwind if it weren't for Motorhead, I can't say I was that interested." So I suppose it's not too surprising that Hawkwind ended up sounding like Motorhead wannabes on this album.

The mastering on the 2009 Cherry Hill/Atomhenge remaster is suitably dreadful. The 1992 Castle release if far far superior in every respect. The 09 version suffers from all the problems of a 'loudness war' remaster (google 'loudness war' for more info), including mastering induced distortion, zero dynamic range, and clipping. In addition, the 09 version has had the bass pumped up and it swamps the mids and highs. It is really disappointing, because the 3 or 4 other Cheery Hill remasters I've heard sound very good.

Recommendations:
Do not buy this record. And if you absolutely must, get the 1992 Castle cd.

This album has some of Hawkwind's worst moments, most notably when Dave Brock tries to sing "Spirit of the Age". That song should have been permanently retired when Robert Calvert left the band. Brock's attempt at it is stunningly bad. Silver Machine is too short to be enjoyable, and Brainstorm is extremely mediocre. There are good versions of "Shot Down In The Night" and "Levitation", but there are two or three better versions of those songs available elsewhere. That leaves us with only one real reason to buy the album: Tim Blake's keyboard/synth instrumental "Lighthouse", but do you really want to buy a whole CD for one instrumental? Only buy this album if you are a completist Hawkwind collector.