This album and the Hawkwind Zoo album were my introduction to the band as my brother had them. 25 Years On remains a favorite album. My first purchase was the Masters Of The Universe compilation, though I didn't know it was a comp at the time. Great collection of tracks, though.
Oh how I wish the likes of Robert Calvert were both honoured and revered…..he deserves full attention and respect, he was such a very talented man….ok I am biased as I am a Hawkwind, Hawklords fan since 1972….aged 10 ….. but wouldn’t be great for just one time, that Robert Calvert got top drawer status and let the masses of the plebicite rejoice in his visions and music and words……again a great review here..thank you for making it.
Pleasure. Agree- will Calvert ever be lionised by mainstream critics or just the more perceptive rock writers? Too clever by half, too literary, too unwilling to kowtow to the mythology of popular music...great, great songwriter.
@@outlawbookselleroriginal Totally agree….it’s very frustrating when I see the likes of Robert Calvert and the late Daevid Allen, just in my opinion, forgotten and overlooked, because they were not mainstream or towed the popular if somewhat narrow views of the establishment…..I was very touched by your reflection working way back and standing on the picket line, the album Freq really reflected that time, the awful oppressed and maligned hard working honest miners and the like…..and of course with pretty much most of Roberts works, we are seeing a very strong parallel to just how life is of now….it’s pretty bleak to see just how we have become so sanitised in our thinking and behaviour…..Robert sure had insight….a fascinating person ….. and one great cheer, there are many like you and me who still hold him in such high admiration, Robert Calvert will not be forgotten….
I saw this tour in 1978 in Manchester. I think by then it had been cut down a bit. I remember reading the concept in the tour programme (there was nothing in the original album release) and being completely bemused by angels’ wings and car doors etc., as the only song on the album that seemed to fit this concept was Micro Man. However, the quote from Calvert that you made that it is about the little man lost in the machine (a theme retuned to in later HW songs -e.g. Living on a Knife Edge), makes sense. The inclusion of some of the other songs though, Psi Power and Flying Doctor is still incongruous. Devo were doing something very similar at the same time, and I wonder how much cross-pollination there was. I’m also reminded of John Foxx’s Ultravox (My Sex, The Man Who Dies Every Day) or even early Simple Minds -e.g. Factory - that song is a corker.
Yes, it's well documented that the dancers were sacked and things were truncated, which pretty much finished Barney Bubbles' relationship with Brock as he (BB) had come up with the staging and parts of the concept with BC. On the incongruity, I think almost every concept album has this, though not all. Devo have been cited as covering these areas too, which i think is fair comment - and this kind of ties with the 'industrial' element of PostPunk, this having a clear precursor in US 'rust belt' bands like Devo and Pere Ubu. I've mentioned Foxx' Ultravox in relation to Hawkwind in my video on "Steppenwolf" - I think there BC and JF have similarly 'thin' vocal tones and the lyrics in the middle eight of "Kerb Crawler" have an affinity with lyrics on the first Uvox album, especially things like "Satday Nite in the City of the Dead"-thanks for your insightful comments again!
Just looked at the tour dates, and Manchester was the 2nd date of the tour, so should have been the full deal. I saw them the next day at Liverpool, and remember the dancers etc.
The elusive footage of live Hawklords that was shown on Australian tv has been an issue thst keeps coming up. One fan genuinely offered Cherry Red full finance to get it released just because he rightly feels it's too important to not be accessible. Cherry Red did not even reply to him. This is the kind of nonsense fans are up against.
Hardly nonsense when there are copyright controls and of course artists permissions & royalties to consider. None of us thought Roadhawks would ever get re-released, but it did. I live in hope these videos will one day be made available.
@@knowname23 Are you some Brock/Cherry Red apologist or just one of those types who must have a contrary view. I know what I'm talking about, somebody was willing to finance the whole project and didn't even receive acknowledgement. This is but one incident showing exactly the type of 'nonsense' you get from the label. Also don't assume I'm unaware of what would be involved, any label worth its salt should be able to deal with similar issues in their sleep. Not everyone has a defeatist attitude like yourself and your beloved label.
A defeatist attitude? A Brock/Cherry Red apologist? My word, you must be a sensitive sort if you must resort to hurling personal attacks at a very minor critique of your post! Have a nice day 😂😂
@@knowname23 Here we go again, projetion time. I didn't take any of your previous as a personal attack and I'd check your own delicate self before calling others sensitive. Any criticism was aimed at the label.
@@knowname23 - This idea first came to me when I read about Bob's 'episodes' when he thought all sorts of secret services were after him, very sad, but things clicked for me then. of course, i could just be about his Romantic image of the cold war spy, but he did have a tendency to bring these archetypes off stage and into his life by all accounts...
It's such a shame what happened with the tour. Barney Bubbles came up with great stage design and choreography that was hugely scaled down within a few dates by a penny pinching band leader. Barney was extremely upset, he'd been hesitant to work with Brock again and all his worries were confirmed. I find myself playing 'what if' with Hawkwind more than any other band.
Thanks for the intellectual approach on these albums. Greetings from Cologne and keep on!
Many thanks! Plenty more Hawkwind videos here- analyses of 'Hall of the Mountain Grill' and 'Choose Your Masques' as well!
This album and the Hawkwind Zoo album were my introduction to the band as my brother had them. 25 Years On remains a favorite album. My first purchase was the Masters Of The Universe compilation, though I didn't know it was a comp at the time. Great collection of tracks, though.
Masters was my first HAwks album too!
A great Hawks album.... i still own it on vinyl to this day....
Well, it's a must have, right?
Oh how I wish the likes of Robert Calvert were both honoured and revered…..he deserves full attention and respect, he was such a very talented man….ok I am biased as I am a Hawkwind, Hawklords fan since 1972….aged 10 ….. but wouldn’t be great for just one time, that Robert Calvert got top drawer status and let the masses of the plebicite rejoice in his visions and music and words……again a great review here..thank you for making it.
Pleasure. Agree- will Calvert ever be lionised by mainstream critics or just the more perceptive rock writers? Too clever by half, too literary, too unwilling to kowtow to the mythology of popular music...great, great songwriter.
@@outlawbookselleroriginal Totally agree….it’s very frustrating when I see the likes of Robert Calvert and the late Daevid Allen, just in my opinion, forgotten and overlooked, because they were not mainstream or towed the popular if somewhat narrow views of the establishment…..I was very touched by your reflection working way back and standing on the picket line, the album Freq really reflected that time, the awful oppressed and maligned hard working honest miners and the like…..and of course with pretty much most of Roberts works, we are seeing a very strong parallel to just how life is of now….it’s pretty bleak to see just how we have become so sanitised in our thinking and behaviour…..Robert sure had insight….a fascinating person ….. and one great cheer, there are many like you and me who still hold him in such high admiration, Robert Calvert will not be forgotten….
I saw this tour in 1978 in Manchester. I think by then it had been cut down a bit. I remember reading the concept in the tour programme (there was nothing in the original album release) and being completely bemused by angels’ wings and car doors etc., as the only song on the album that seemed to fit this concept was Micro Man. However, the quote from Calvert that you made that it is about the little man lost in the machine (a theme retuned to in later HW songs -e.g. Living on a Knife Edge), makes sense. The inclusion of some of the other songs though, Psi Power and Flying Doctor is still incongruous.
Devo were doing something very similar at the same time, and I wonder how much cross-pollination there was.
I’m also reminded of John Foxx’s Ultravox (My Sex, The Man Who Dies Every Day) or even early Simple Minds -e.g. Factory - that song is a corker.
Yes, it's well documented that the dancers were sacked and things were truncated, which pretty much finished Barney Bubbles' relationship with Brock as he (BB) had come up with the staging and parts of the concept with BC. On the incongruity, I think almost every concept album has this, though not all. Devo have been cited as covering these areas too, which i think is fair comment - and this kind of ties with the 'industrial' element of PostPunk, this having a clear precursor in US 'rust belt' bands like Devo and Pere Ubu. I've mentioned Foxx' Ultravox in relation to Hawkwind in my video on "Steppenwolf" - I think there BC and JF have similarly 'thin' vocal tones and the lyrics in the middle eight of "Kerb Crawler" have an affinity with lyrics on the first Uvox album, especially things like "Satday Nite in the City of the Dead"-thanks for your insightful comments again!
Just looked at the tour dates, and Manchester was the 2nd date of the tour, so should have been the full deal. I saw them the next day at Liverpool, and remember the dancers etc.
The elusive footage of live Hawklords that was shown on Australian tv has been an issue thst keeps coming up. One fan genuinely offered Cherry Red full finance to get it released just because he rightly feels it's too important to not be accessible. Cherry Red did not even reply to him. This is the kind of nonsense fans are up against.
Fingers crossed...would be so good to see it!
Hardly nonsense when there are copyright controls and of course artists permissions & royalties to consider. None of us thought Roadhawks would ever get re-released, but it did. I live in hope these videos will one day be made available.
@@knowname23 Are you some Brock/Cherry Red apologist or just one of those types who must have a contrary view. I know what I'm talking about, somebody was willing to finance the whole project and didn't even receive acknowledgement. This is but one incident showing exactly the type of 'nonsense' you get from the label. Also don't assume I'm unaware of what would be involved, any label worth its salt should be able to deal with similar issues in their sleep. Not everyone has a defeatist attitude like yourself and your beloved label.
A defeatist attitude? A Brock/Cherry Red apologist? My word, you must be a sensitive sort if you must resort to hurling personal attacks at a very minor critique of your post! Have a nice day 😂😂
@@knowname23 Here we go again, projetion time. I didn't take any of your previous as a personal attack and I'd check your own delicate self before calling others sensitive. Any criticism was aimed at the label.
“At least we’re on the right side” …. Literally laughed out loud!
Couldn't resist it!
@@outlawbookselleroriginal I must say, your insight into “only the dead dreams” really struck me. How clever to realize it’s about Calvert himself!
@@knowname23 - This idea first came to me when I read about Bob's 'episodes' when he thought all sorts of secret services were after him, very sad, but things clicked for me then. of course, i could just be about his Romantic image of the cold war spy, but he did have a tendency to bring these archetypes off stage and into his life by all accounts...
I always found the similarity between Flying Doctor's intro and Motörhead's Vibrator (On Parole) curious.
I haven't played the latter for years, so I must dig it out and take a listen...
It's such a shame what happened with the tour. Barney Bubbles came up with great stage design and choreography that was hugely scaled down within a few dates by a penny pinching band leader. Barney was extremely upset, he'd been hesitant to work with Brock again and all his worries were confirmed. I find myself playing 'what if' with Hawkwind more than any other band.
We may never know DB’s reasons to make the choices he did. Such midwifery is but one function of the leader here…
@@knowname23 When band members all have similar accounts of his character and motivation, it's safe toske logical assumptions.