Hawkwind - Hawkwind

Year of Release: 1996
Label: EMI
Catalog Number: HAWK1
Format: CD
Total Time: 57:49:00

Bobo reviewed several Hawkwind titles in an omnibus review; they are listed separately in the database. This is the first of the five reviews.

I do remember very vividly how I armed myself against arriving enemies with the sleeve of Warrior On The Edge Of Time. When folded open the sleeve became a cardboard shield which illustrated perfectly the great creativity of the band. Founded at the end of '69 as Group X, the band evolved, via the name Hawkwind Zoo, to Hawkwind; this band has always had eyes and ears for detail in order to deliver Art with a big A! That art not only was apparent in their music but also in the sleeve designs. The coming of the compact disc made it difficult to continue to deliver that same Art. The tiny booklet in the kitsch-like cold, static, plastic jewel cases no longer has that Hawkwind feel. Fortunately EMI/Premier has seen how serious this was and has re-released the band's first albums in digipack replicas. They did whatever it took to finally release the complete artwork even including various extras such as concert posters, exclusive photographs, extra sleeve notes and the almost obligatory bonus tracks.

The debut Hawkwind was released in 1970 and must have been quite an eye opener (or should that be "ear opener"?). Whilst the opening track "Hurry On Sundown" still has that hippie-atmosphere, already the band is in that galaxy of psychedelica with the instrumental "The Reason Is?" The following "Be Yourself" paves the way for 25 years of obstinacy signed Hawkwind. "Be Yourself" comes close to the Pink Floyd of the day: the legal LSD-trip can begin! That very same Floyd feeling is apparent in "Seeing It As You Really Are," where we hear the first signs of the patented Hawkwind sound: "a sound is born!" The adoration for the Floyd can also be absorbed in the bonus track "Cymbaline" written by Roger Waters and recorded by Hawkwind Zoo.

Tracklisting:
Hurry On Sundown (4:55) / The Reason Is? (3:30) / Be Yourself (8:01) / Paranoia (Part 1) (1:12) / Paranoia (Part 2) (4:10) / Seeing It As You Really Are (10:44) / Mirror Of Illusion (6:59) / Bring It On Home (3:16) / Bonus tracks By Hawkwind Zoo: Hurry On Sundown (5:02) / Kiss Of The Velvet Whip (5:25) / Cymbaline (4:04)
The Album Comes In Multiple Foldout Digipack

Musicians:
Dave Brock - guitar, vocals, synthesizer, organ, 12-string guitar, harmonica, percussion
Nik Turner - sax, flute, vocals, oboe
DikMik - audio generator, electronics
Terry Ollis -drums, percussion
John A. Harrison - bass
Huw Lloyd - guitar

Discography:
Hawkwind (1970)
In Search Of Space (1971)
Doremi Fasol Latido (1972)
Space Ritual (1973)
The Space Ritual Alive (1973)
Hall Of The Mountain Grill (1974)
Warrior On The Edge Of Time (1975)
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (1976)
Roadhawks (1976)
Quark, Strangeness And Charm (1977)
Masters Of The Universe (1977)
25 Years On (1978)
PXR5 (1978)
Live Seventy-Nine (1980)
Repeat Performance (1980)
Levitation (1980)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 1 (1980)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 2 (1980)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 3 (1981)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 4 (1981)
Sonic Attack (1981)
Church Of Hawkwind (1982)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 5 (1982)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 6 (1982)
Choose Your Masques (1983)
Text Of Festival (1983)
Zones (1983)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 7 (1983)
The Weird Tapes Volumes 8 (1983)
The Text Of Festival (1983)
Zones (1983)
This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic (1984)
Stonehenge/Do Not Panic (1984)
Space Ritual Volume 2 (1984)
Chronicle Of The Black Sword (1985)
Hawkwind Anthology (1985)
Live Chronicles (1986)
Angels of Death (1986)
Out And Intake (1987)
The Xenon Codex (1988)
Spirit Of The Age (1988)
Space Bandits (1990)
Stasis (The UA Years 1971-1973) (1990)
Palace Springs (1991)
BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert (1991)
Electric Tepee (1992)
The Friday Rock Show Sessions (1992)
Hawklords Live (1992)
California Brainstorm (1992)
Tales From Atom Henge (1992)
Psychedelic Warlords (1992)
It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous (1993)
The Business Trip (1994)
Alien 4 (1995)
Undisclosed Files Addendum (1995)
Love In Space (1996)
The 1999 Party (1997)
Distant Horizons (1997)
Various - The Elf And The Hawk (1998)
In Your Area (1999) (US only)
Epocheclipse - 30 Year Anthology (3CD box) (1999)
Epocheclipse - The Ultimate Best Of (1CD) (1999)
Family Box Set (1999)
Hawkwind 1997 (1999)
Glastonbury 90 (1999)
Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2 (1999)
Complete '79: COllectors Series Volume 1 (1999)
Year 2000-Codename Hawkwind (1999)
Atomhenge '76 (2000)
Yule Ritual (2001)
Canterbury Fayre 2001 (2002)
Live 1990 (2002)
Masters Of Rock (2002)
Spaced Out In London (2004)
Take Me To Your Leader (2005)
Take Me To Your Future (2006)
The Collection (2006)
Knights Of Space (2008)
Spirit Of The Age (2008)
The Dream Goes On (2008)
Minneapolis, 4th October 1989> (2008)
Reading University, 19th May 1992 (2009)
Live '78 (2009)
Winter Solstice 2005 (2009)
Blood Of The Earth (2010)
Treworgey Tree Fayre 1989 (2010)
At The BBC - 1972 (2010)
No Star Unturned (2011)
Parallel Universe (2011)
Onward (2012)
Spacehawks (2013)
Space Ritual Live (2015)
At The Roundhouse (2017)
The Machine Stops (2016)
Into The Woods (2017)

Genre: Psychedelic/Space Rock

Origin UK

Added: February 19th 2001
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.hawkwind.com
Hits: 3002
Language: english