CLEOPATRA RECORDS August 9th, 2019
I don’t know where or when these tracks were laid down and they can’t have been all together in the studio, since at least two of the line-up are dead, but this is Hawkwind-family pure and classic. Space rock and heavy-duty jamming fill the album and this will please any fan of the band.
Alan Davey was bassist with Hawkwind from the early eighties to the start of the nineties and then again when the band reformed in the new millenium. He has brought together a stellar collection of Hawkwind luminaries and put a respectable album together. He takes on most bass duties, guitar, vocals, etc, alongside guests. He plays the oud on Sea Of Sand, which grooves like a mofo and features the vocals of Bridget Wishart from Hawkwind. Drums on this and a handful of others are by Ginger Baker. He’s low in the mix but his contributions have that jazzy touch. Nyx Of Khaos is one of the three that feature the driving sax of Nik Turner, who has fronted a Hawk off-shoot or two in his time. The title track has an thrilling switch into overdrive mid-way. Elsewhere we hear from Hawk people such as Huw Lloyd-Langton, Mick Slattery, Simon House and Paul Rudolph.
Other tracks fuse a British blues shuffle with elements of Morocco, do belting British space-rock, have rising synths, riff hard and repetitively, are hoarsely sung and do what you’d expect. Is this Alan constructing tracks using old tapes? I don’t know, but it works really well.
The big names are Lemmy adding his vocals from beyond the grave to Bad Boys For Life and William Shatner. His version of Sonic Attack isn’t comparable with the Moorcockian original but, c’mon, it’s Captain James Tiberius Kirk doing space stuff! You know you want to hear it.
Questions about provenance notwithstanding, this is pure Hawk-stuff and will delight any number of crusties and grizzled rockers.