Search - Hawkwind :: Astounding Sounds Amazing Music (Box Set: CD & Bk)

Eclectic Hawkwind

10/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A big change of style after the glory of Warrior on the Edge album this album I initially hated. I have grown to love its variety .. Reefer Madness is a great intro... Steppenwolf.. taken a fraction too fast outperforms Roxy Music at their own game.. City of Lagoons.. non-descript instrumental....The Aubergine that Ate Rangoon.. eclectic funk.. wonderful... Kerb Crawler.. deserved to be a hit single...Kadu Flyer (similar to D Rider), a typical Nik Turner melodic drone... Chronoglide Skyway.. a beautiful instrumental..Wonderful stuff guys!"

Astounding? Amazing?

10/23/1998

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The most astounding and amazing thing about this release is that it is ostensibly from the same band that released "Doremi Fasol Latido," "The Hall Of The Mountain Grill" and "Warrior On The Edge Of Time." Gone is the thundering, overdrive bass of Lemmy; gone the grungy rifferamas; gone the mellotron and the rag-tag vocals which made the earlier material so visceral and charming. The full-time addition of lyricist/vocalist Robert Calvert and the tame, if competent, bassing of Paul Rudolph make for a more mundane, polished and commercial sound. Significantly, the best tracks are also the greatest departures--and instrumentals (and on the original vinyl release each was a side-closer). "City Of Lagoons," is a piece of dark, pretty, moody and appropriately murky mood music; "Chronoglide Skyway" by contrast is as light and airy as its title suggests, with distant sax by Nik Turner and pretty lead by Dave Brock over synth strings and a throbbing bassline. Nice, indeed. "The Aubergine That Ate Rangoon" (yet another instrumental) is about as funky as these guys are ever likely to get; the remaining tracks range from the concise ("Kerb Krawler," a single a la "Kings Of Speed") to the redundant ("Reefer Madness," "Steppenwolf"). Not a definitive Hawkwind release by any means, but a showcase for what is both best and worst in them."

Brock & Calvert

08/12/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hawkwind never stops stretching the Horizon. This is a must have for any Hawk collection. GET IT !!!!!!! You can't go wrong"