1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Dave's Top Solo Records, January 13, 2010
This review is from: Memos and Demos (Audio CD)
********************Personnel
Dave Brock: Everything on every track
********************Technical Stuff
You should have no sound quality issues. The mastering, mixing, and recording are all good.
********************The Music
This album was released in 2001 and consists of recordings made by Dave in his home studio. Some were experiments and some were potential Hawkwind songs. On the whole, most tracks succeed.
track 1: "Clouded Vision" This is the finished track, unlike the one that appears on "Distant Horizons". Apparently Hawkwind's manager Doug Smith released Distant Horizons before it was finished which angered Dave, and resulted in Smith's sacking.
track 2: "State of Mind (instrumental version)" A monster of a track. This instrumental gem features some stellar guitar work from the captain against a great sequenced backdrop.
track 3: "State of Mind(vocal version)" This is a substantial reworking of track 2, and not just adding vocals. It is slower and darker, and less synths.
track 4: "Tune-ing In" Simple 4/4 beat with 2 note bassline with some guitar interrupted after about a minute with an organ based reggae tune.
track 5: "Kauai" A short, epic sounding instrumental synth piece.
track 6: "Morpheus" One of the weak tracks, the less said the better.
track 7: "Find The Right Way" Sounds like something from a Portishead album.
track 8: "Didn't Have A Problem" An update of "In The Office" from the Agents of Chaos album, nothing special.
track 9: "Luna" Wah-wah feuled riffing song about having to euthanize a horse. Quite a potent song.
track 10" "Love In Space" Another reworked version of a Hawks song. Unnecessary.
Track 11: "Surreal Sex Dreams" A fast techno drone with an in/out 2-chord guitar riff. Sampled female American voice repeating "only when I'm having a dream during sex" while monkeys yell in the background. A pretty intense song.
Track 12: "Just Drifting" Ambient spacey synth interlude.
Track 13: "Sweet Obsession" Generic MOR song.
Track 14: "Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?" This one is would have been a really really good dance club track from the early 90's.
Track 15: "Space Riders and Sex Dreams" Part 2 of Surreal Sex Dreams, but with slightly different female samples and fewer synths. Intense.
Track 16: "Distant Islands" The album ends with a slow paced synth chill out track, letting the listener recover somewhat from the thrash of the last track. Very cool.
**********************Summary
This is a highly recommended purchase for Hawkwind aficionados. Just remember this is Dave experimenting with his sythns and home studio by himself.
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