Hawkwind – Warrior On The Edge Of Time (Atco)
Here we have another record from the band which has moved itself into the number two slot in the field of space rock behind Pink Floyd, the founders and continuing rulers of the genre. The enormous popularity of the Floyd on both sides of the Atlantic documents the existence of a sizeable audience for this type of music, an audience willing to ignore the bad press it often receives.
Much of the negative commentary on space music seems to have been directed towards Hawkwind. They've been called simplistic, although the directness of their style is refreshing to hear after being exposed to some of the more extreme ramblings of others in the field (German bands in particular). Outdated and pretentious are two other common criticisms of the group, even though electronic musical advances have enabled them to produce sounds and moods which make the first space bands sound crude and outdated themselves.
So much for criticisms. Warrior..., the band's first album with Atco, introduces some interesting refinements of their style. The most significant of these is the introduction of British Science Fiction writer Michael Moorcock into the group as the author of three eerie recitations ("The Wizard Blew His Horn," "Standing At The Edge" and "Warriors"), as well as co-writing the band's single effort, the metallic "Kings Of Speed." Another drummer, Alan Powell, has been added, which will certainly affect their sound live. But on record, little difference is noted.
The usual Hawkwind mixture of spacey instrumentals and apocalyptical musical statements is heard along with the spoken tracks. With a general increase in the band's level of musicianship making them more valid than similar things on past albums. This album shouldn't disappoint their followers, but neither will it win them many new converts. Possibly some future lineup will explore more of the sizeable number of possibilities involved in playing space music, but at the moment, no one is doing it as well as Hawkwind.
-Cliff Michalski
Hawkwind and Michael Quatro, Allen Theatre, May 16
An evening of celestial rock was presented at the Allen last Friday, opened by Mike Quatro and his group. Some needed improvements have been made in his set compared with his numerous past appearances here. Although the flash bombs and dry ice surfaced during "Court Of The Crimson King," Quatro's music was mostly left to stand on its own merits, with less emphasis on gimmicks.
An improvement was seen musically, as well. His new, set closing opus, "In Collaboration With The Gods," exhibited more taste than many of his past works have. His backing band proved themselves capable of handling the numerous styles thrown their way, with guitarist Ted Hale balancing the keyboards of Quatro with some fine soloing. This outfit is one of the few in this country playing classically influenced rock, and a continuing improvement may put Quatro at the level of his English counterparts yet.
Another full theatre of space cadets was waiting for Hawkwind, and the Sonic Assassins didn't disappoint many of them. Their show contained the expected visuals: geometrical forms, moving waves and winged horses projected on a screen, flashing colored strobes - the lot. For me, they were a bit too predictable, many numbers being only slight variations of things the band has done on stage for years. Groups such as Genesis and Nektar have displayed more imagination and desire for change in their visuals in recent appearances here.
Their human visual device, dancer Stacia, did her usual hippie chick gig, fluttering around the stage in various costume changes, inciting psychedelic sexual fantasies. Clearly another area where it seems as though more could be done.
Hawkwind's music was tightly performed, if not instrumentally outstanding, a cross section of old and new material. Guitarist Dave Brock and sax player Nik Turner handled the vocals and recitations, some of which were more effective than others.
It seems that just when Hawkwind has begun to show some improvement on their recorded work (via their new Warrior On The Edge Of Time release), the quality of their live shows has begun to slide. Hopefully, some overhauling of the deadwood in their show will revitalize the impact of it next time around.
-Cliff Michalski
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