Hawkwind - 'Text Of Festivals,Live 1970-72' (Thunderbolt)
Mike Reed | USA | 10/11/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"From the same people who'd brought us the band's 'Bring Me The Head Of Yuri Gagarin' CD,only 'Text Of...' is much better sounding.I encourage you,if you're able to locate a copy of the 'original' release,which is THIS issue,GET it.Avoid if you can,that 'Entire&Infinite Universe Of Hawkwind' 4-CD release on the Dressed To Kill label,as that first came out AS a 4-CD box set in which two CD's of the four disc set were the SAME bootlegged gig.I believe they LATER corrected the problem and re-released the title as a 3-CD box set.Okay,now 'Text Of...' is a top rate sound quality bootleg-like title that's WELL worth it to any real Hawkfan that doesn't already own a copy.I liked the early '70's live versions of "Dreaming"(which is really "You Know You're Only Dreaming"),"Shouldn't Do That" and "Hurry On Sundown" as well as the 21-minute "Come Home/Improvise/Compromise/Reprise" which is an extended open jam.I heard this disc is actually missing the last,say 15-20 minutes of the extended jam simply 'cause Thunderbolt wanted to keep this a one disc release.Don't blame them on that."
Hawkwind at lesser quality, but still Hawkwind
Burritoman "USA" | Pennsylvania | 07/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Indeed, the sound quality on this release is woefully sub-par, pretty much what you'd expect from a bootleg. But having said that, the music is absolutely great, what you can hear of it anyway. This was one of the first Hawkwind albums I heard, having bought it as part of the 4-cd set "The Entire And Infinite Universe Of Hawkwind" for like .... I understood what these discs were, basically official bootlegs, and enjoyed all of them immensely. You can start anywhere with Hawkind, even here, and find one of the greatest bands around. I find I play "Text Of Festival" the most often of the set; it features a great compilation, assorted tracks from the '71-'72 era which prove how awesome an improvisational band Hawkwind can be, even that ... early on. This is a great little album, full of surprises Hawkwind style, not to mention a brilliant symbiotic title. I could recommend this cd to anyone, as long as they understand what this really is, a bootleg that has become legit. But if you are interested in this cd please make the right decision and order "The Entire And Infinite Universe Of Hawkwind". This previously mentioned 4-cd set includes this disc as well as the other official boots "Space Ritual Vol. 2" (the best sounding of the set--awesome); "Bring Me The Head Of Yuri Gagarin" (the legendary title, not bad at all, quite interesting actually) and "Masters Of The Universe" (halfway decent but easily the most dispensable of the bunch). If you're inclined to buy only one, then "The Text Of Festival" is the one to go with in my opinion. The sound is poor and there aren't any previously unreleased Hawkwind songs to be found here, and to make matters worse, this has inexplicably always been printed as containing 12 tracks, when it only has seven. Huh? Like with "In Your Area" I can perfectly understand how a first Hawkwind printing could be out of whack, but this album was first released back in '83! Anyway, this is great music. The ... sound quality actually adds a certain spookiness to the songs, psychedelic in a familiar, haunting way."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1