Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time

It is considered one of Hawkwind’s finest albums in the history of their career and in the genre of the Space Rock sound in 1975. Through countless bootlegs that have not been done in good conditions and through getting the rights the way the album was meant to be, was almost a struggle. But when Atomhenge announced back in February of this year that they were going to reissue the album during Memorial Day, it was a joy to celebrate into the outer limits. So, let’s have a huge round of applause for Mark Powell to work tooth and nail to give it the fully restored treatment it finally deserves.

Originally released in 1975 on the United Artists label, Warrior on the Edge of Time, Hawkwind’s fifth album is staggering, powerful, sinister, eruptive, and cosmic. It showed the band going through changes from their follow up to previous work; In Search of Space, Doremi Fasol Latido, the live work of Space Ritual, and Hall of the Mountain Grill. They received cult status and word of mouth from the fans and the UK press during their heyday.

The band decided to team up with Sci-Fi writer Michael Moorcock, who’s best known for his work with The Elric Saga and The Eternal Champion, because Dave Brock was a huge fan of his work and it was a match made in heaven and was Robert Calvert’s stand in because Rob was at the time suffering from Bipolar Disorder causing tensions between the members and was placed in a Mental Hospital. Michael came to Hawkwind’s rescue to work on the Warrior sessions and some of the live performances he did for them.

Some of the songs in the album are based on The Eternal Champion which is about a man named John Daker who escapes from the real world and into a different universe by becoming Erekose, and he is send to this planet to lead the human warriors against the aliens called, Eldrien. While the character has attacked them previously, Daker himself is also not on this journey for survival, but to find out whom he really is whether he’s John Daker or the tragic hero, Erekose and whether is the magic real as well.

So, let’s get to the music. Starting the album off is the driven yet electrical thunderstorm 10-minute epic, Assault & Battery /The Golden Void. The lyrics are straight from 19^th century American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but the composition is a mind-boggling experience. Featuring Lemmy’s bass intro and Simon House’s (High Tide) mellotronic introduction before becoming a harder metallic liftoff between Dave’s vocals and Nik’s eerie Sax work, it shows how much they were ahead of their time before it becomes a doomier view of the future on someone going insane through the corridors as Simon takes the keyboards help throughout the atmosphere.

The Spoken Tracks (The Wizard Blew His Horn, Standing at the Edge, and Warriors) that Nik Turner and Michael Moorcock help out on give a nightmarish detail on the stories. And at times, it very poetic with a dystopian universe as the other pieces have these Dalek like voices that you can imagine being used during the Tom Baker years for Doctor Who. It has some shrieking and asylum-like surroundings behind the pieces and giving the detail of the adventures for the Warrior himself.

Opa-Loka is a thumping atmospheric bass-driven done by Dave Brock, psychedelia with organ-like surroundings with virtuosity on the guitar creating these mysterious hypnotic beauty while Spiral Galaxy 28948 is Simon House’s moment to shine as he takes the keyboards on the synths into uncharted worlds as it resembles this combination of Amon Duul II meets Tangerine Dream meets Devo as it goes through this surrealism waltz-like dance in our solar systems that is mad yet strange composition that Simon just nails it to be the next commander in the Starship Enterprise.

The Demented Man is a calming yet gothic-acid-ambient-space folk rock sound as Brock sings with a gentle relaxation between acoustic guitar, seagulls calling, and the backing mellotron sets the tone of the piece as it resembles an earlier version of Ash Ra Tempel. Then, everything becomes a dangerous combination of protopunk, fiddle, danger, and soaring punches on Magnu with fummeling guitar and bass work, Simon King’s heavy duty drum lines, and House’s sinister violin work with a screeching tone.

Then, everything becomes climatic and cosmic-rock with a vibrating beat on Dying Seas.  This time its Simon House’s moment to shine as he takes his violin into darker territories while the tension level increases to give it a whirling yet terrifying exploration. The closing track, Kings of Speed, goes back into the Spacey mode, but its into the Punk-Rock mode with a shuffling twist not to mention the keyboards and guitar go into overdrive to setting a course back to earth to close the album off with a bang.

The bonus tracks are a real gem that feature different versions of the two spoken word dialog along with a Bob Dylan-sque turned bluesy harmonic jingle on On The Road, but it’s the real attitude with a balls-out touch of early Thrash on Motorhead. Featuring Lemmy’s double-tracking voice and his pummeling bass work, heavy rhythm guitar line, sax, and Simon’s Irish Jig-like sound on the violin, makes it a killer to get you ready for the speed freak to go on an adventure.

There’s also Dave Brock’s version along with and instrumental version on Kings of Speed, but the real fun has only begun. On the second CD, is the 2013 new stereo mix done by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree has done a superb job on the remix for the 5.1 sound and I can hear some of the keyboards and drums in the front of the compositions along with Nik’s woodwind instruments. As I’ve mentioned before Steven has done an incredible job on the reissue for the mixes along hearing the mellotron again on Spiral Galaxy being in front as well.

Dawn is more of a jam session that as the lost live sounds that were performed at the Watchfield Free Festival on August 23^rd, 1975. Watchfield is a village located as a Civil Parish in the Vale of White Horse and these rare recordings see the band going into hypnotic mode. The Watchfield Festival Jam is actually a 15-minute freak out touch on You Shouldn’t Do That as the spiraling Circles and I Am the Eye, shows the band giving the audience a spiritual yet uplifting experience they’ll never forget.

Even though its not in the best condition, you can tell how much exciting they were having at the Festival and the Audience were cheering them on as they were promoting the album. Atomhenge have scored a knockout with the Deluxe Edition and it’s a home-run. Now if you fancy the Super Deluxe Edition which features the poster and Vinyl, it’s a must have for anybody who admires the music of Hawkwind.

String Driven Thing - String Driven Thing / The Machine That Cried

When people think of Folk, they think of: Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. And their names have been explained over and over again, but there is one band from Scotland that always had a touch of the coolness, darkness, and powerful experiences that you’ve never heard before. That group is String Driven Thing. Since their formation in 1967, they started out as a trio with two guitars and a tambourine founded by husband and wife duo Chris and Pauline Adams and John Manion, they moved away from the folky sound into something as I’ve mentioned before into darker territories and surreal beauty that has never been done before.

Their two albums (String Driven Thing & The Machine That Cried) are a mind-blowing experience from start to finish. Originally released in the Charisma label in 1972 and 1973, and reissued by the good people from Esoteric Recordings, this is a special treat if you want to go inside the different Progressive Folk scene and shows that the Folk genre is not just a four letter word. Alongside the Adams family (no pun intended), it considers Graham Smith on violin and Colin Wilson on Bass along with Bill “The Kid” Fairley who played drums on their third album.

Beginning in 1972 with the release of their second sole self-titled debut album in which they brought along Shel Talmy, who’s known for his work with The Kinks, The Who, and Pentangle to name a few as a producer, it was a match made in heaven. What really surprise me away about String Driven Thing, is how Chris Adams can really sing very well and a good screamer as well by belting it out while Graham comes up with these shrieking yet calm-like moods on his violin and Pauline helps his husband out by singing along by giving him a helping hand.

Songs like the shuffling funk yet bluesy rocking out powder keg with a lot of force on My Real Hero as they go into town by dealing with how God doesn’t play in a Rock & Roll band as the balls-out intro Circus that features a heavy guitar driven riff, pummeling tambourine, and a cool bass line, the lyrics dealing with the childhood memories inside the Tent and seeing the dangerous animals, clowns, and the dangerous stunts that the performers have to do on the tightrope, you can tell how this is a good way to start the album off with a bang.

Then, there’s the catchy melodies including Hooked on the Road & Fairground in which they capture the beauty of Graham’s violin in which he goes from this country-tinged sound into an upbeat surrounding that would become the String Driven Thing sound as Pauline goes into this soothing calm-like vocals on the second track as Graham and Chris come up with down-home driven beats on their instruments.  The waltzy ¾ time signature on the ballad, The Last Blue Yodel, has this wonderful homage to Fairfield Parlour as Chris’ voice reminisces of Peter Daltrey while they go back into a psychedelia blues shuffle into the heavy rock mode on Let Me Down as the violin becomes a Hendrix-like wah-wah solo.

The closer, There You Are, has this whimsical yet romantic dance-like number as the band dealing with a song about a man’s love toward this girl who has dreams and can’t stop taking their eyes on the person he loves so much. It’s a beautiful track and a great way to close the album off with a wonderful tribute to Harry Nilsson’s earlier days in the late ‘60s.

The follow up, The Machine That Cried, released in 1973 is where everything comes at the right time at the right place. Even though it received mixed reviews at the time of its release, it is now considered a lost classic as they went into a heavier and evil mode and Chris was suffering through depression and had a collapsed lung at the time of the recording sessions were made of their third album, and still after 40 years after its official release, the album deserves recognition.

Opener, Heartfeeder, starts off with Graham’s nightmarish violin intro as it goes through a set of motions before Chris’ voice kicks in and then it becomes a whole new level. His terrifying vocals sends shivers down my spine as you can imagine the band going into this sinister upbeat tempo  as Colin Wilson creates some evil walking bass lines to set the mood before going back into the climatic finale with a silent dramatic ending.

To See You has this Dylanesque beauty as it almost was recorded during the Nashville Skyline sessions while they go back into full gear with harder edge into the shuffling rock mode in the groove on Night Club. Then Chris shines again with his vocals as Graham and Pauline help out with the eruptive yet evocative touches on Sold Down the River. Listening to this, you can feel his pain from his singing as the violin sets the atmosphere and the drumming helps the powerful touches to get the scenery and it’s a shrieking and touching moment on the composition.

Then, it’s a revisit to the ‘60s with a Hendrix-like sound as Pauline takes over on vocals with Two Timin’ Mama. It has these touches along with Hendrix that Chris does on the guitar and bits of Richard Thompson’ work as a bit of a tribute to the man from Fairport Convention and it is a very moody piece on being lost now in the future and not thinking about the past. The calm after the storm becomes a lukewarm sunny afternoon as they take a break from the electricity into acoustic ballads on The House, Travelling and the vivid People on the Street.

And its back into the haunting mode again with the title track, which almost sounds like something straight out of a Ray Bradbury short story, but it’s the dramatic level that really kicks in as both Chris and Pauline sing together as like a duet on the piece while Graham just goes to town to give it a huge notch and the rest is a pure adventure. The closing 11-minute epic, River of Sleep, is a spiritual yet disturbing composition.

There are movements that are; soft, evil, experimental, spacey, dreamy, and terrifying. And what they do is a spellbinding twist to come up with various genres to give you the chills as they Graham Smith himself a chance to shine to improvise as he challenges Darryl Way for the tension level to set up the variations for someone by going through a nervous breakdown. And it’s a perfect closing piece to close the album and the curtains to go down for a thunderous applause.

The bonus tracks are singles that appeared at the time they were promoting the album. You have the uplifting song on how everything’s stage for lovers and fools on It’s a Game, then it’s a roaring volcanic stomping on becoming famous and the price that comes with it by remembering the past on the ‘50s and ‘60s with Are You a Rock ‘N’ Roller? Not to mention a powerful organ sound while they go into  the Prog Rock sound and bits of Glam Rock in there with the stomping I’ll Sing This One For You by challenging Slade and Pavlov’s Dog.

The liner notes are spot on as they are done by Sid Smith who’s best known for his writing on King Crimson and this one features an interview that he did with Chris Adams. It’s a history on how the band came to be and during the making of the albums and he has done one hell of a job researching and for Chris remembering the good old days on String Driven Thing. Ahead of their time, the band is one of the most true and underrated pioneers in the history of Progressive Folk.

Peter Hammill - Fool's Mate

While he carried the sound and the vision behind the sound of Van Der Graaf Generator and receiving cult status with albums including; The Aerosol Grey Machine, The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, H to He Who Am the Only One, and the darkest masterpiece, Pawn Hearts, Peter Hammill is for me, one of the most overlooked singers in the history of the Art Rock scene in the 1970s. During VDGG’s heyday, Peter wanted to do something that was beyond the band’s career at their peak. He wanted to do simple shorter songs.

That and his first solo album, Fool’s Mate, a calming, evocative, and spiritual album that he unleashed, but he still carried the VDGG sound in there to give it more of an alarming, eruptive, yet hypnotic debut that is ready for lift-off. Originally released on the Charisma label in 1971, which was home to Lindisfarne, Rare Bird, String Driven Thing, and Genesis, Fool’s Mate is a staggering gem that just makes you wonder, how the hell does Hammill do it?

Well, you have some friends including Robert Fripp of King Crimson along with Rod Clements and Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne to lend Peter a hand on some of the tunes that are at times humorous, dalek, twisted, balladry, and joyous, he can take the listener into a strange new world that he or she has never seen before. Songs like the waltz-like dance organ upbeat on Happy and the tribute to the Victorian-era of the late 1890’s on Sunshine has this odd homage to Gilbert and Sullivan with a Salad Days sound featuring jazzy sax beat and a swirling wah-wah guitar solo.

Then, he goes into the surroundings of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory-era which I imagined he listened to during the sessions for his solo album on the acoustic yet laid-back calmness on Child and Candle while he goes into the Acid Folk fuzzy atmosphere that he could have recorded at a dark and cavernous place on Solitude in which he sings about a person going through the early stages of having a nervous breakdown by trying to get away from the real world with lyrics like “Out here, Life Is At its Essence/Watches the World with Innocent Eyes/Far from Grime/Far from Rushing People it seems That I have Found a Tiny Peace.”

Meanwhile, he’s at the piano for a ballad that resembles the chord introduction on Whatever Robert Would Have Said on Vision and you can tell Hammill is taking a break from the heavy material to take a relaxation as he goes into a joyous introduction featuring a loud alarming keyboard note before going on a trip on his Imperial Zeppelin. It has the upbeat psych-swinging grooves, operatic organ-like movements in the midsection with his wailing and dooming, calming voices that he improvises, sax riffs, and Hammill having a blast on this piece that almost could have been a hit single.

And then, the tension level increases on the closing yet mourning piece with him on guitar and singing that has this Edgar Allen Poe inspired lyrics on I Wrote Some Poems. He calms for a minute and then strums loudly by singing and its just thunderous, that you can tell something special is happening on here. Still after 43 years by the time it was released, Fool’s Mate is an unsung masterpiece that Hammill has brought to the table.

17 Pygmies - Isabel

17 Pygmies have been around for 31 years since their formation in 1982, and while they have this various sound of atmospheric experimental music that they carry into their music, it’s probably a good idea to come up with the next story line after the release of Even Celestina Gets the Blues. Their next concept is based on the Celestina story as it continues in through the mind of Dr. Isabel. A spiritual follow-up to the previous album, they take music into a different levels of the genre by making it a laid-back, soothing adventure like you’ve never heard it before.

With 11 parts of the Isabel suite in different variations and the sounds of classical, new age, surrealism, and dark-like cavernous sounds that they did in the movement of the story,  it’s a homage to the bands, composers, and artists they grew up on and researched to get ready to move with the next involvement of Celestina. There are touches of; Storm Corrosion, Philip Glass, Mike Oldfield, Terry Riley, Amon Duul II, and early Tangerine Dream in there as well with bits of early Porcupine Tree in there as well from the Delerium Records-era in the early ‘90s.

At times, the pieces have bits of Acid Folk, Avant-Garde, Alternative, and uplifting moments with string quartets and orchestral boundaries to get you ready for the journey. And then, it goes into these electronic trip hop sounds reminiscing; Radiohead, NoSound and elements from Pink Floyd The Wall’s Empty Spaces. The gentle lukewarm crisp and electric guitar sounds that come at you out of nowhere, makes you feel right at home and has this calm-like surroundings as Meg Maryatt’s voices on the compositions has this haunting yet beautiful surroundings on her telling the story on Isabel’s life and she makes it very poignant.

The synths go through different surroundings and time-changing signatures along with background vocalizations that transforms into a voyage into the milky-way and the capturing the essence of Space Rock at times and it works, perfectly like a charm while it goes through the sounds of space into dripping watery touches of the ocean. Also, there is one part where everything becomes a psychedelic raga-rock vibe that captures the late ‘60s featuring a thumping bass line, drum beat, hypnotic sitar sound, fingerpicking guitar layered sound that is haunting, sinister, and the futuristic city of a dystopian universe that will send shiver down your spine.

But the closing track, Kyrie, has this angelic yet gentle finale featuring a string-quartet that has this ‘80s melodic structured beauty that lets the listener know, that the story is not over, but just the beginning of the Isabel story. Along with 17 Pygmies previous albums, Isabel , proves to show that the band are the music and they are the story-tellers when it comes to both of the pieces coming together as one.  The future is still coming and 17 Pygmies are still coming up with more tricks in their sleeves for years and years to come.

Allan Holdsworth - FLATTire: Music For a Non-Existent Movie

Allan Holdsworth, is perhaps one of the most overlooked guitarist in the Jazz Rock scene. He’s probably best known for his work with; Soft Machine (Karl Jenkins-era), ‘Igginbottom, Nucleus, Tony Williams, and the earliest obscure heavy metal short-lived trio, Tempest.  He is ahead of his time alongside John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, and Bill Connors to name a few to really take the guitar into the voyages of the passages of both time and space to boldly go where the genre of Jazz has never gone before.

In the mid ‘80s, he used an instrument called the SynthAxe, which was a MIDI software guitar-like instrument that would produce sound by using his arm to play notes on the neck resembling the instrument in different usage that Allan himself did with Atavachron in which it was an homage and a tribute to the original Star Trek series back in 1986. Then, eleven years ago, where he would create this moody atmospheric new-age sound with 2001’s FLATTire: Music For a Non-Existent Movie.

The album was out of print for a long time until MoonJune Records this year has reissue it and from the moment you put it on, you could tell that Allan himself wants to give the New Age sound, by adding a touch of the Jazz genre up a notch. Listening to this, it’s almost a one-man guitar show and featuring Dave Carpenter on acoustic bass on two tracks, he would come up with some smooth lines to help Allan out with the swirling beauties that he would come up on the SynthAxe.

At times, it is a tribute to the Hyperborea-era of Tangerine Dream and bits of Wendy Carlos in there to give this ‘80s vibe on the sound as you can imagine some of the compositions could have been a part of the Atavachron sessions. You have to understand, Allan is a conductor and composer, so the instrument that he’s playing, he’s playing the bass, strings, sax, keyboards, and orchestral choirs that would fill the entire setting into that one MIDI instrument, that would have your jaws dropped when controls it to see where he would take it to next.

It almost as if he was writing the score to some of the PBS shows like Newton’s Apple, NOVA, Long Ago & Far Away, and Square One. It goes through a spiritual journey like walking through various landscapes set to a dazzling electronic score to fast-upbeat moments, haunting, and emotional themes that makes Allan, a mastermind through the soundscapes. All in all, FLATTire, is a hypnotic, moody, and quirky electronic jazz adventure like you’ve never heard it before in the mind of Allan Holdsworth.

The Avengers - On A Mission

This Jazz-Rock quartet from New York City takes a lot of sound and vision of the world of Fusion like you’ve never heard it before.  Their music is very laid-back, soft, soothing, mellow, balladry, and dance-like from beginning, middle, and end. Taken their name from the Marvel Comics universe, The Avengers plays their music like a soundtrack to the Big Apple which makes you feel right at home as you go through the streets and remembering the good times you had in the city as a child growing up that makes you feel safe and sound.

Uruguayan guitarist Beledo, who is almost is for me, Jazz Rock’s answer to Leopold Stokowski and John McLaughlin on the guitar as a conductor and leader of the group, takes his playing into various movements and holds the band together like walking through a tightrope and holding on to their lives to see where the musical compositions will take them into. Then there’s Adam Holzman, who is on tour right now with Steven Wilson promoting The Raven That Refuse to Sing, using his Fender Rhodes-like sound on the keyboards and the Moog, creates a lot of swarm and moody sounds on the instruments that will take you into different dimensions.

Drummer Kim Plainfield and bassist Lincoln Goines, create some mind-blowing passages and incisive wonders between the rhythm sections that will have your jaws dropped when you expect the unexpected.  There are some amazing atmospheric arrangements that are enduring four highlights from On a Mission. After All begins with a layered guitar and bass melody line that Beledo and Goines do while Holzman gathers some soulful Rhodes and Organ sound as they soar into the heavenly skies for some fantastic receptions as Beledo just takes it down the highway as Holzman creates some Herbie Hancock touches for a hypnotic solo.

Portia begins with a haunting synth-like introduction and it has some classical elements in there with soothing guitar beats and vocalizations that makes this band worth listening to. You have to admit, there is a lot of magic and creativity behind the four members of the group. Meanwhile, Rauleando has some heavy inspirations from The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Inner Mounting Flame-era and King Crimson’s Red-era in there as they go into some Prog-Funk movements with some jumpy and spacey sounds as Exactly, goes into this 1980s fast-driven turned expansive exercise beat that sees the band go into this massive car race to see who will win the Stanley Cup for best sound.

And then, there’s the opening title track. With touches of Weather Report and Return to Forever surroundings in there, it makes it a perfect introduction for the curtain to rise up. Lincoln is doing this mind-blowing bass lines in the style of Jaco Pastorious as Beledo creates some virtuosity as Holzman does this Jan Hammer workout on the keyboards to get going as Kim helps him out on his up tempo drum beats.

An amazing journey that is spiritual, innovative, powerful, and magical from the moment you put the CD on, and it’s an exhilarating experience.  

The Chewers - Chuckle Change and Also

When you have a band or an artist who is strange, surreal, avant-garde, twisted, and mind-blowing, you think of; Swans, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, The Residents, The Deviants, and the Krautrock group, Faust. And there is one band, a duo, which is following in the footsteps of the six and that is The Chewers. Coming from West Virginia, the duo considers Travis Caffrey and Michael Sadler who according to their bio on their website, live in the hills of the Backwoods and wounded up in Nashville.

They have this weird concept of Deadpan Humor, bizarre time signatures, instruments that have the avant-rock and bluesy twist that works perfectly and it almost feels like they were left off the sessions for Trout Mask Replica and The Faust Tapes. That and their second album, Chuckle Change and Also, offers a huge middle finger to the commercial music industry and the reality shows, that is wildly weird and strangely strange, but it makes perfect sense from beginning, middle, and end.

Now while the title sounds like something straight out of a 1930s Three Stooges short, the out of the blue monotone’s, dystopian views of the business, muddy swamp-rock orientations that has a ‘60s feel, sinister overtones with a humoristic feel, and nightmarish sounds coming at you to give you a leap from your comfy listener’s chair. For example on Down There, it feels as if you are inside the asylum and imagine, if you will, Alvin from Alvin and The Chipmunks, wearing a strait-jacket, locked up in the mental institute, with these voices in his head, and going insane featuring a doomy atmospheric sound, is staggering!

The chaotic twists of: Burn it Down, Steam, A Part Machine, and The Fat Man has these crunchy bluesy guitar haywire effect that are pounding, resembling to the post-punk sound of the late ‘70s, and shuffling creaking that will make you to take notes. The fuzzing bass, saw-hypnotic squishing effects on the keyboard, and robotic voices on Techno-Slaves, is their take on House music while the homage to the Magic Band comes in full swing on the free-jazz marching sing-along song between bass drum, bass, piano, and almost a violin in the wings with Smiling Samuel.

Then, there’s the 6-minute terrifying eerie yet almost Twilight Zone story about a disturbing man who is suffering from a nervous breakdown and his obsession with Rats on Tornado of Stasis. It has this combination of a loud bass, dissonant piano chords, mellowing drum line with 4/4 time signature, makes you get the goosebumps and shivers down your spine.

Then on Funnel Head, they go into the Punk Rock punch with a fast ¾ beat with double vocals with a slowed down beat and hypnotic guitar work as the robotic voice comes in dealing with the issues of the massive big corporations with the with a nice homage to CAN’s Ege Bamyasi with a nice homage to the sound of the late Michael Karoli’s guitar lines as an homage that Travis does on Burn it Down.

I have listened to Chuckle Change and Also about four times now and its not an easy album to listen to. Now do I hate it? No, this is bizarre yet mind-boggling adventure that you are going to embark on when you listen to The Chewers’ music. A must have for anyone who’s into the Post-Punk, Avant-Rock and Krautrock sounds of the ‘70s.