Hawkwind - "Take Me To Your Future"
(Voiceprint HAWKVP38DD)
Hawkwind - "Take Me To Your Future"
(Voiceprint HAWKVP38DD)
From Aural Innovations #35 (January 2007)
Hawkwind is back with a special release EP/DVD dual layer disc. One side is studio outtakes from the last few years and the DVD is various tracks from upcoming DVD releases and two pieces exclusive to this release. The CD begins with a pretty damn cool rerecorded version of the classic Calvert track, Uncle Sams on Mars. Great long version and a very stoned psychedelic mix. Next is Small Boy, which is a taster track from a new CD that will come out in which Dave Brock and the other Hawkwind guys have added some spacey music to spoken word poetry of and read by Robert Calvert. Quite nice but not that interesting. Next up is the Reality of Poverty, which was originally going to be on the Take Me To Your Leader CD but removed, and this is a very cool track featuring Arthur Brown. This is a very psychedelic track. Next up is another old Calvert poem called Ode to a Time Flower, which Robert reads and the band has added a electronic techno like backing track. Not sure what Bob would have thought?? The final track is a rerecorded version of Silver Machine featuring Lemmy (yes.. he resung the track in 2003 or so). Lemmy sounds amazing and very much like the original vocal but the version is not nearly as cool with some strange stuff in the middle and a weird jam that does not really fit or seems like it was from the recording session but tacked on the end. Ugh. This is only for the hard core fans!
As for the DVD, we get 7 videos but only 4 of these are concert tracks. The first is from a DVD release coming out in the future called Space Bandits and this is a very cool video collage of the song Images. The picture is excellent but the audio is so so. Next up is Utopia live from Studio 22 in Australia. This was for a TV program and the band will also release this. This is excellent and a great spaced out version of the track. Assassins of Allah is the best track on here and recorded at the Astoria, London in 2005 for a full concert DVD release. Very nice 5.1 audio and footage from the back of the hall with a single camera. Next up is just garbage and filler. The band with Ron Tree rehearsing Steppenwolf in 1996 but 98% of the video is 3 dancers practicing in the yard. Ugh. Skip this one. Then a video collage of pictures from the bands CD release party in London for Take Me To Your Leader, with the new version of Paradox as the backing track. The CD ends with another video collage and a brand new Dave Brock solo track, which is not that interesting.
If you are a diehard fan then there is stuff you will enjoy here. Otherwise you can pass this one up and not miss much.
For more information you can visit the Hawkwind web site at: http://www.hawkwind.com.
Reviewed by Scott Heller