I purchased Hawkwind's "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music" shortly after it had been released in 1976. The single "Kerb Crawler" had received reasonable play on Capital Radio's Nicky Horne's late night show and I thought it was a pretty good song. I was unaware that bassist/vocalist Lemmy had been sacked and poet Robert Calvert had been rehired as vocalist/lyricist.
I was aware of Hawkwind from their 1972 hit single "Silver Machine" but was ignorant of any other of their work. The purchase of this album was more in faith of being a "well known" band it must be good !
The reality was though, that I thought it was a patchy album, with the three Calvert-Brock compositions being the highlights but the rest were forgettable apart from a vague recollection of "Kadu Flyer". in fact looking at the track listing only "Reefer Madness" and "Kerb Crawler" were the only songs I could confidently recall.
Side one opens with "Reefer Madness" with the sound of underground train to start with, a great guitar riff, high energy, then rock and roll piano for the chorus. The mellotron instrumental break is reminiscent of Yes, then there is the sound of jet fighter, weird saxophone, and the spoken lyrics the type of which you might hear in a Vincent Price film. Lyrically, it is about the nightmare of smoking Marijuana, where Calvert's finger falls off and steals his stash. I'm not sure how the rest of the band felt about this anti-drug song, given their alleged reputations, but overall it is an impressive song.
"Steppenwolf" is nearly 10 minutes long and has the typical Hawkwind guitar riff. Additionally, there is Roxy Music Sax and a strong bass line throughout. The song is based on Herman Hesse's half man-half wolf character, not the Born To Be Wild band.
There is a hypnotic violin in the middle section and some lyrics chanted in German. Although mostly a dark piece, at times there are some nice keyboards and sax, and whilst I wouldn't go so far to give it the classic status that many Hawks fans give to it, the track sounds a lot better now than I thought at the time.
Side one closes with the instrumental blues/funky feel "City Of Lagoons". The slow guitar could be from mid 1970's Pink Floyd whilst the keyboards were part ELP/part Yes, but overall it was dull and I guess hardly something Hawkwind fans would have been expecting.
Side Two begins with "The Aubergine That Ate Rangoon", another instrumental track with a strong bass line intro and a Kraftwerk synth pattern. Despite some nice sax and a good title, it is forgettable.
The single "Kerb Crawler" has another good riff, a driving bass line and girly backing vocals. It is the most accessible, commercial rock song on the LP and a stab at being mainstream despite a fab guitar solo.
"Kadu Flyer" has wind sound effects and piano and mellotron as part of the intro, but the vocal by Nik House is weak and the song would perhaps have benefited from being sung by a better vocalist. The long outro features sitar and violin, and the sax is more Arabic than Himalayan. The song ends with some crashing cymbals.
Side two ends with "Chronoglide Skyway", an instrumental with a dreamy synth intro but the rest is nothing special. It has been described as being psychedic Tangerine Dream.
In summary, the view that the best parts are the three Calvert/Brock songs remains, whilst the three instrumentals are largely forgettable.
Hawkwind were often describe as "Space Rock" but perhaps the phrase "spaced out" might have been more appropriate.............
Track Listing :
2. Steppenwolf
3. City of Lagoons
2. Kerb Crawler
3. Kadu Flyer
4. Chronoglide Skyway
Released 1976
UK Chart Position : 33
Kerb Crawler ( - 1976 )
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