CD Details

CHURCH OF HAWKWIND

HAWKWIND
1982 , UK , EAN CODE 5013929632127 - EURO 13.00

Label: ESOTERIC RECORDINGS/ATOMHENGE

ALBUM REVIEW
Church of Hawkwind was like an anticipation about what Hawkwind would bring in the 90s, in part, though in 1982. Under one of his alias: Dr. Technical, Dave Brock shifted with audacity the whole sound toward a more electronic side, instead of the straightforward futuristic 'heavy metal' of Levitation or Sonic attack; though for many people this LP is a solo Brock's album, in the fashion of Pink Floyd's The final cut perhaps, which was usually addressed to the Roger Waters' solo works. Anyways, Church of Hawkwind is such a precedent for this band, and underlined some schemes which would be erratically followed in a more or less distant future. According to the Wikipedia (obliged source for technical data and minutiae), the equipment used in this LP was: Korg 700 Keyboard, Korg Analogue Seq, Korg MS20, Korg Polyphonic, Roland Jupiter 4, Roland Sho9, EMS Synthi, 2 Roland 201 Space Echoes, Koorlander Time Module, Koorlander Multichorus Delay Module, Pubison, Westone Thunder HI Guitar, Westone Padewak Guitar and Westone Thunder 1Bass; which is a lot of non-rockist modernism for the times, and for a band that started as a bunch of hippies this ain't that bad, anyways this doesn't come as a surprise: in the Dave Brock/Dr. Technical mind always there was a concept of modernity and evolution. The selection consists of 12 cold tracks, where the keyboards and synthesisers are clearly the protagonist, over the guitars or the drums, and is here where the Hawkwind affairs with the real electronic music start. Notwithstanding cannot be found an actually outstanding songs in here, this disc rather should be taken like an integral and whole performance, peculiar and experimental, more than like a collection of songs; except maybe for the last song 'Looking in the future', which has a more 'traditional' Hawkwind structure, and might come like a more appealing cut. In perspective this is a fine album, though pretty different to the 70s' Hawkwind space rock for sure. (death_metal_doll - Rate Your Music)