Hawkwind's P.X.R.5. Is Awesome!
Chappa | Olympus Mons, Mars | 06/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album was released on June of 1979 although the original eight tracks were recorded throughout 1977 and 1978. The line-up featured was Bob Calvert (vocals), Dave Brock (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Adrian Shaw (bass), Simon House (keyboards/violin), and Simon King (drums). Musically, the album continues were the Hawklords' release "25 Years On" left off with a punk/new wave inspired sound to go along with the band's preferred sci-fi lyrics. I don't know how good this 2009 remaster is because I never got to purchase on older pressing since this album was SO HARD to find until now!
The booklet comes with a very informative essay plus an amazing band family tree drawing illustrating all band line-ups from 1970 to 1979 made by Pete Frame with stories behind member departures, some work they did after leaving the group, etc. Credit should be given to him for all the hard work since the group had so many line-ups!
The nearly four-minute Calvert/Brock composition "Death Trap" launches the LP in pure rocking fashion with its punk-rock inspired sound. The lack of keyboard was a little surprising though. Still, it is a good example of the style featured throughout the recording. "Jack Of Shadows" is one of the catchiest songs of the bunch and this time House's synth work is effectively combined with Brock's buzz saw rhythm guitar, notably during the song's short instrumental bridge in the middle. The lyrics were inspired by a novel with the same title by Roger Zelanzy. The third number "Uncle Sam's On Mars" sounds more like a jam using a two chord sequence on the guitar but the synth work is fantastic with some melodic runs that make use of the mixolydian scale! This tune shows the influence that the Kraut-rock band Neu! had on the group. The band had already recorded a similar experiment titled "Opa-Loka". "Infinity" is an atmospheric composition totally dominated by the keyboard/synth with Brock singing the lead vocals although the lyrics were written by Calvert. Very enjoyable! "Life form" is a brief one-minute and a half synth interlude.
The album's main piece "Robot" took inspiration from Isaac Asimov's collection of sic-fi stories called "I, Robot". It's the longest song on the album clocking at a little over eight minutes. Musically it is similar to "Magnu" from the "Warriors On The Edge Of Time" LP. The verse/chorus structure is very haunting and in the middle it has one of those typical lengthy spacey jams. A great tune! Track number six is a masterpiece called "High Rise" with lyrics inspired by J. G. Ballard's novel. The songwriting credit is shared by Calvert and House and it is a simple composition that uses only one long chord pattern for its five minutes but the playing/singing is well executed so it doesn't drag at all! A fantastic tune! The last song "P.X.R.5" is notable up-tempo composition with a memorable synth solo in the middle that sounds like music from an old video game! A really cool exit!
Bonus Tracks:
To be honest, the bonus tracks don't really add much to the album with the outtake "We Like To Be Frightened" being the obvious exception! This is an awesome pop sounding tune that has a similar feel to other material such as "Back On The Streets" or "Quark, Strangeness And Charm". A shame that it was left off the original release.
"Jack Of Shadows" (live in studio version) - A pretty good alternate version with a more raw sound production. Not very different from the original but the song finishes with a chord ringing out instead of the fade-out so that's cool.
"We Like To be Frightened" - This the pop gem with lyrics that Calvert wrote as a tribute to horror films.
"High Rise" (live in studio version) - An alternate version that I thought it was inferior to the original...especially Calvert's vocals.
"Robot" (first version) - this extra track should have been left off in my opinion. Why? Well, I didn't detect any notable difference from the original except a slightly longer intro with the main guitar riff and maybe a different mix...
"Jack Of Shadows" (alternate vocals version) - This an interesting take with bassist Shaw doing the vocals instead of Calvert. Also the keyboard work is more prominent in the mix...interesting but I wouldn't say essential.
"High Rise" (alternate vocals mix) - Another superfluous addition. It sounded very similar to the original to my ears...
"P.X.R.5." (alternate intro mix) - Again, very close to the original. Could have lived without it...
"Quark, Strangeness, And Charm" (live) - Recorded in March 1978 during a US tour. Very cool version that's shorter than the original studio take lasting about two minutes and a half. It has a cool, brief (about 20/30 seconds) instrumental outro that was not featured in the original. A worthy addition.
In conclusion, if you already have an older version of the album, then I'd say just download "We Like To Be Frightened", the live take of "Quark..", and both takes of "Jack..." and you'll have the most interesting bonus tracks or perhaps you should get it for the awesome booklet but don't expect to be blown away by the bonus material. If you don't have the original, then of course you should still get this since it was unavailable for ages!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later..."
The Sound Quality of the Remaster is Very Good
Fritz Gerlich | admin@audioetc.info | 12/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since Chappa did such a good job in reviewing the 2009 PXR5 release, I confine my comments to the sound quality of the 2009 Cherry Hill remaster.
It is a bit louder than the top flight Hawkwind remasters, and it has some clipping and distortion . But these defects only occur in isolated spots like between 5:00 and 5:20 of PXR5 [Alternate Take Mix], and affect maybe 1 or 2% of the music. The majority of the album sounds very good.
So if you are concerned about this remaster being a victim of the Loudness War (google it for more info), rest assured that it is not. I am very grateful for the care that was taken with this one, as this was Robert Calvert's last album with the Hawks and his work deserves the best."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1