Posts tagged Lemmy Kilminster

(Review from hmv.com)

Hawkwind At The BBC 1972 captures the band just after the surprise of the UK no. 3 hit single in July with the classic ‘Silver Machine’, and before their live experience ‘Space Ritual’ which was recorded on tour later in the year.

Whilst the bulk of this double release is made up of the live set recorded for the BBC In Concert programme, it opens with a previously unreleased session recorded for Johnnie Walker featuring a shortened version of the Doremi Fasol Latido album classic Brainstorm and a version of the then hit single Silver Machine, featuring Lemmy on vocals as per the single.

The In Concert itself, a hypnotic continuous performance, is presented in both mono and stereo versions. The mono version was previously released by Windsong in 1991 and has been remastered and re-indexed to include all of the pieces originally performed, and the concert itself in its entirety.

The stereo version has long been in the domain of the bootleggers as an off-air recording known the as “Broadcast” version. This mix was in fact distributed by the BBC for broadcast internationally and features an edited Brainstorm, missing approximately 4 minutes from the front of the song, a shorter Welcome To The Future and Electronic No. 1 (not indexed on the previous CD release), but longer a Countdown introduction. Officially released for the first time, apart from being in stereo, the sound quality is superior to the mono version and the mix is generally more exciting.

Line-up:
- Dave Brock / guitar, vocals
- Nik Turner / saxophone, flute, vocals
- Lemmy / bass guitar, vocals
- Dik Mik Davies / Synthesizer
- Del Dettmar / Synthesizer
- Simon King / drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Brainstorm – 5:29
02. Silver Machine – 3:50
03. Countdown (mono mix) – 0:56
04. Born To Go (mono mix) – 11:26
05. The Black Corridor (mono mix) – 2:24
06. Seven By Seven (mono mix) – 7:06
07. Brainstorm (mono mix) – 10:17
08. Electronic No. 1 (mono mix) – 2:42
09. Master Of The Universe (mono mix) – 7:30
10. Paranoia (mono mix) – 5:56
11. Earth Calling (mono mix) – 3:03
12. Silver Machine (mono mix) – 5:10
13. Welcome To The Future (mono mix) – 3:10
CD2
01. Countdown (stereo mix) – 1:08
02. Born To Go (stereo mix) – 11:22
03. The Black Corridor (stereo mix) – 2:26
04. Seven By Seven (stereo mix) – 7:07
05. Brainstorm (stereo mix) – 6:14
06. Electronic No. 1 (stereo mix) – 2:04
07. Master Of The Universe (stereo mix) – 7:31
08. Paranoia (stereo mix) – 5:56
09. Earth Calling (stereo mix) – 3:03
10. Silver Machine (stereo mix) – 5:11
11. Welcome To The Future (stereo mix) – 2:53

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Thanks to Zen Archer for his contribution.

(Review from amazon)

Hawkwind fans have long endured poorly recorded early live sets (endless re-packagings of Text of a Festival and Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin), unimaginative alternate versions and re-mixes from the definitive tour (Space Ritual Vol 2, Ridicule) and numerous later era official live releases that are often very good, but always very different to the classic era of the band (Palace Springs, Live Chronicles, Live ’79), all in the pursuit of the heady first rush of the Space Ritual.

Live at the Chicago Auditorium (also known as the The 1999 Party), which was actually recorded in March 21st of 1974 might be considered as in the same league as Space Ritual Alive.

For a start, the band line-up remains largely unchanged from the earlier tour, with Lemmy contributing his trademark vocals, although Calvert has been replaced by Michael Moorcock as poet in residence. Several key elements of the actual Space Ritual remain (The Awakening, Sonic Attack, Welcome to the Future), however it is no mistake that the title features the word ‘party’, and while Space Ritual Alive fully captured the reverential awe of that particular event, the 1999 Party is a wonderful document of the band at their most playful, with even Sonic Attack rendered slapstick by the addition of ‘boom-tish’ drum fills to punctuate the dire warnings.

Whereas the “Space Ritual” tour had largely utilised songs from the “Doremi Fasol Latido” album to fill the musical gaps in Calvert’s original vision, this live album showcases tunes from the “Hall of the Mountain Grill” and features the first live version of D-Rider on record anywhere, while “You’d Better Believe It and Paradox”, which were actually live versions when first issued on the “Hall of the Mountain Grill”, get their first outing on an official concert album. You get yet another version of Brainstorm, albeit a particularly good one, the first live recording of single “Brainbox Pollution”, which is an absolute gem, and while this set was purged of all other Doremi material, this album paradoxically features the first live recording of Lemmy’s menacing The Watcher – and what an incredible bass-driven rendering it is!

Lemmy would be busted for possession of amphetamines on the next North American tour and sacked from the band, dancer Miss Stacia and kinky saxophonist Nik Turner both left during the next couple of years, and although Robert Calvert later returned in an expanded role as genuine frontman of the band throughout the second half of the seventies, as the band surprisingly trailblazed their way through the landscape of punk/new wave, Hawkwind would never again be the same band that they were during ’73/’74 – if you were weaned on Space Ritual Alive, then Hawkwind Live at the Chicago Auditorium (The 1999 Party) is the alternate source of the sustenance to which you have become accustomed.

Line-up:
* Dave Brock – guitar, keyboards, vocals
* Nik Turner – saxophone, flute, vocals
* Lemmy – bass guitar, vocals
* Del Dettmar – Synthesizer
* Simon House – violin, keyboards
* Simon King – drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Intro / Standing On The Edge – 4:16
02. Brainbox Pollution – 7:52
03. It’s So Easy – 11:02
04. You Know You’re Only Dreaming – 4:43
05. Veterans of a Thousand Psychic Wars – 2:21
06. Brainstorm – 9:19
07. Seven By Seven – 9:26
CD2
01. The Watcher – 6:40
02. The Awakening – 2:40
03. Paradox – 5:43
04. You’d Better Believe It – 8:09
05. Psychedelic Warlords – 3:47
06. D-Rider – 7:46
07. Sonic Attack – 4:30
08. Master Of The Universe – 6:57
09. Welcome To The Future – 2:32

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(Review from vintageprog.com)

The band’s 5th studio-release turned out to be their most ambitious album ever, and the cover that folded out into a shield was just the first clue. They hired sci-fi writer Mike Moorcock to help with some of the lyrical concept, and he also read several poems in between the tracks. Never before or after had Hawkwind (or any other band for that matter) better blended old fashioned fantasy-elements with futuristic sci-fi and space-influences. And the material, and not at least the arrangements was some of the band’s best ever. The two opening tracks “Assault and Battery” and “The Golden Void” floats into each other, and next to “D-Rider” these are Hawkwind’s most majestic and biggest sounding tracks ever. The arrangements here have to be heard to be believed. Tons of Mellotron, synths and distorted sax and flute create a very unique sound that actually sounded like no other band. The guitar is toned unusually much down here, but it would be more dominant in the sound later on the album. After a short poem we’re then taken straight away to space in the hypnotic and dreamy instrumental “Opa-Loka”. “The Demented Man” is another of those lovely acoustic Hawkwind-tunes where the band really managed to keep the obligatory space-feel. The energetic “Magnu” was the first track on the album to feature a quite heavy riff, but it was actually more dominated by Simon House’s excellent violin-playing. This could very well be his best performance on a Hawkwind-album. Then we’re getting more poems by Moorcock and another spacey, synth-drenched instrumental in “Spiral Galaxy 28948″. The album closes with “Kings of Speed” and this catchy and straight-forward hard-rocker was chosen as the single from the album. Dave Brock himself regards “Warrior on the Edge of Time” as the band’s crowning achievement, and most progressive rock fans rates it next to “Hall of the Mountain Grill” as Hawkwind’s best album.

Line-up:
- Dave Brock / guitar, synthesizer, bass (4), vocals (1, 2, 5, 6 & 11)
- Nik Turner / Tenor and Soprano saxophone, flute, vocals (7 & 10)
- Lemmy / bass guitar
- Simon King / drums & percussion
- Allan Powell / drums & percussion
- Mike Moorcock / vocal (3 & 9)

Track List:
01. Assault & Battery
02. The Golden Void
03. The wizard Blew His Horn
04. Opa-loka
05. The Demented Nan
06. Magnu
07. Standing At The Edge
08. Spiral Galaxy 28948
09. Warriors
10. Dying Seas
11. Kings of Speed
12. Motorhead (Bonus)

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