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Can someone kindly explain Hawkwind to me?

I have some forty albums of Hawkwind. I presume that makes me something of a fan? Some have been great, some good, and some naff. No "substances" were involved, although a fair amount of alcohol was consumed.
 
kasperhauser said:
Ok, (1) I friggin’ love this and (2) I have to say, it doesn’t go very far toward explaining Hawkwind. Or maybe it does. I’m not even sure any more.
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I'm afraid you had to be of a certain age (aka late teens/early twenties, during the period say, 1964-1974 -ish) to really understand the social changes that were happening at that time in the UK, and how they were reflected in the music. Folks under 55 need not apply :) :)

It could also be argued that the revolution in pop/rock music in the UK started on 22 March 1963, and I would not disagree with that. It lead to the most productive and progressive "decade and an bit" of British pop/rock, which has not since been equalled.
 
suzywong said:
I'm afraid you had to be of a certain age (aka late teens/early twenties) during the period say, 1964-1974 (-ish) to really understand the social changes that were happening at that time in the UK, which were reflected in the music.

It could also be argued that the revolution in pop/rock music in the UK started on 22 March 1963, and I would not disagree with that. It lead to the most productive and progressive "decade and an bit" of British pop/rock, which has not since been equalled.
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I’m younger, I was only 11 in ‘74 so came to them after the fact, but I see Hawkwind as a real outsider to that history. They just weren’t a UK rock band in any traditional/musicological sense. I see them having far more to do with Krautrock or US garage/psyche; they entirely avoided solos and went for extended repetition and driving trance-like rhythmic playing. I’d say they had way more to do with The Stooges, Silver Apples, Amon Düül II etc than Stones, Cream, Led Zep and the rest of them, at least during the period I rate highly (first four albums). In a lot of ways they pre-empted punk and new-wave too; I can hear echoes of Brainstorm, You Shouldn’t Do That etc in Suicide, Joy Division, even Throbbing Gristle etc.
 
Good point, but at that time pop/rock was breaking out of the “three minute song” and moving in a myriad of different directions, for example, blues based - say The Stones, Led Zep: classical based - think Procol Harum, Yes, ELP, Genesis: burgeoning heavy metal such as Sabbath, and then throw in Reggae , the jazz-rock of Soft Machine, Nucleus & Collosseum, etc etc

Couple that with the advances in electronics…..amplifiers that could be overloaded to near destruction, synthesisers that make weird and wonderful new sounds (I knew that Del had a VSC3 but I always wondered what DikMik played.)

Not to mention the virtuoso musicians…….

And Hawkwind moved in yet another direction, and I totally get your Krautrock “repetitive” angle - “Hallogallo”, anyone?

They were great days…
 
Seeker_UK said:
To my mind, this is as good as a Charisma-era number:

And this is a brilliant song from 'Live Chronicles' - one of HLL's best moments (even if he plays his bog standard solo that he had throughout his time in the hawks ;)).
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The Secret Agent track is very reminiscent of Hawkwind's Charisma Phase, but that album cover is shocking.
 
I was born in 1973, but Hawkwind were blasting while I was in my cot. Therefore I’m going to claim to be the youngest, contemporary fan on here!

I blame them for my love of repetitive, locked grooves, which has stuck with me my whole life. As a young child, the sounds, vocals, and especially album covers, seemed strange, otherworldly, and incredibly exciting.

By coincidence I’ve been listening to In Search of Space on the commute this week. An instant time machine back to the early 70’s.

They were playing at a mini festival put on by Tame Impala a couple of years ago, but unfortunately the sound was so thin and weedy, I didn’t stick around.

Still love them though.
 
Seeker_UK said:
And has Tim Blake on it too...

The live version of the title track originally on "Stonehenge" and then on the Atomhenge release is an absolute barnstormer. :cool:
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Just added Transmissions from Atomhenge to my Tidal playlist - Thanks for that - my better half will be out tomorrow, so I shall investigate at volume :)
 
Arkless Electronics said:
Oh yeah Here and Now also worth listening to as we're on space rock/stoner rock!

Start Hawkwind with the eponymous first album... maybe the most accessible and what's not to like about "Hurry on Sundown"!??
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That track is an anthem!

Love Hawkwind but they can take a while to 'get' as it were.
 
Darren L said:
That is unfortunate and indeed some people suffer from paranoia sometimes due to cannabis abuse and sometimes for other reasons. A friend of my wife's suffers from OCD ( I mean the real thing rather than being a bit fussy as alot incorrectly use the term) she has never smoked anything but thinks all manner of bad things may happen for a variety of reasons, eg house burning down if she doesn't disconnect all electrical appliances. There's no rationale to her invasive thoughts.

I think to be totally honest we all can agree that cannabis abuse can make some folks suffer from an irrational paranoia but I still stand by what I stated .
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I agree OCD is a possibility SSRIs can help and also having a tidy record collection is not OCD, it’s a misuse of the term. With regards to psychosis triggered by cannabis use this is one of the side effects of illegality, addiction and psychosis is directly related to strength so suppliers pump out cannabis with ultra high THC concentrations with low or zero concentrations of the antipsychotic CBD. Still an overburdened mental health service is a small price to pay to protect the tabloids alcohol advertising revenue.

Back onto Hawkwind, Orgonne Accumulator and Silver Machine are gym tracks, along with several other from bands of that era, ELP…
 
Having spent most of the day at my desk listening to This Is Your Captain Speaking Your Captain Is Dead, with no stimulants (working of course), it is a great collection.

I just get the groove, and have several tracks on my 'running' playlist (also Hallogallo). Seen them a few times in the 80s, sadly not before. Vividly remember one gig at Worthing where they played Sonic Attack and it had a serious impact on one's diaphragm. ...had to take girlfriend out of the hall before she was sick (and was thankful to because I was feeling it too..!).

I like Levitation and QS&C. but the earlier stuff is where it's at for me, Space Ritual #1 without a doubt.
 
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Born in 58 I'm the right demographic for hawkwind for sure....but was never a huge fan
It all seemed a bit "silver machine" at the time...but they did have other far better tracks

As a tradition..my mates (some younger than me) go to see Hawkwind whenever they get a tax bill.. sorry... decide to tour , and are in my area
The last time I saw them (in Ipswich a few
years ago) they did an accustic first half consisting almost entirely of the Hawklords album songs
It was bloody brilliant!
 
alanbeeb said:
Make the party Last! With Hawkwind!

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If it wasn't for James' cover of that track, Hawkwind would have called it a day. They had their gear nicked and couldn't afford to replace it. However, the royalties that Dave got from the sales of "Non-Stop Dancing" was enough to buy new kit and stay on the road.
 
Joe Hutch said:
Then there's the whole drugs/music thing. Would popular music have developed as it did without massive drug intakes? (Obvs not) Were those developments worth the pain and premature deaths of those for whom the drugs proved too much?
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"You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don't be sad.
If it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years"

 
Acquired an ex-jukebox copy of Silver Machine as a student in 1976. Never really felt the need for anything else...
 
Best enjoyed in a field full of hippies on a balmy summers evening with the aroma of ganja wafting through.
You may need to score a tab in said venue for the ultimate experience.
Hurry on sundown.
 
It is dance music with free jazz electronica interludes. Try dancing to Master of the Universe and you will get the idea. No drugs required. In Search of Space is the high point for me.
 
Finally taking the plunge into Space Ritual. Middle of the day, stone cold sober.

Have to say, this is excellent so far. It kind of reaches critical mass right off the bat. Then you just ride the shockwave.
 
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