Hawkwindforum

love most of it just a few stinkers in there remarkable after 40 years but for me hawkwind have always been about more than just the music its a way of life.

couldent agree more -- if you look at it on the whole i would say you could like all of the music ,when you break things down its much easier to find bits you dont like but i would say i like it all , its just that i like some alot more than i like the others ......to survive 40 years in the music biz and to still be delivering the goods is miraculous ... daves mind must be made of steel

Hawkwind runs through my veins and I can listen to their music 24/7. However as with all music tastes there are tracks on some albums that I dont like as much as others but for me the only album that I really really don't like is Take me to your Leader. I have listened to it many times to try and change my opinion but none of the songs do anythng for me at all. But hey thats one bad one for me out of god knows how many.

I'd call 1970-75 Golden era, 75-78 Silver era, 80-82 Bronze era (geddit?), but what then?

Ever since Alan Davey left............................Hawkwind have been a very poor imitation of what they once were............
No pounding bass.....no driving rhythyms....a pub band doing HW covers in my opinion...and that is coming from a die hard fan of over 30 years.....

I would disagree...

Ever since Lemmy left............................Hawkwind have been a very poor imitation of what they once were............
No pounding bass.....no driving rhythyms....a pub band doing HW covers in my opinion...and that is coming from a die hard fan of over 30 years.....

Seriously though I think the latest line-up delivers the goods, maybe not as powerful to other line-ups but let's see what they do on the new album....

I think I'm pretty much like the rest of you on here. There some albums/era I prefer more than others, I'm particularly fond of Chronciles (both studio and live) but that was their first album I got so has a special significance to me.

There's album some of you like that I can't stand, never liked Alien4 and for me they haven't released anything to top Electric Teepee. I thought It Is The Business.... was awful, Alien 4 poor and there's nothing from the Take Me To albums that I think can hold a candle to their 70's and 80's output.

Live however they have been top dollar, still prefer the live versions of Brainstorm, Masters, Sleep of 1000 Tears, Urban Guerilla (to name but some) compare to the studio versions. Alan Davey may well have provided them with a Lemmy copycat "pounding bass" (whatever that means) but toward the end of his second tenure with the band he was shouting more that singing the lyrics as far as my ears were concerned.

The set list always seem fluid (bar Assassins!) and you never know what you are going to hear. When they get round to releasing a new album it'll be interesting to hear what contributions Tim, Niall and Dibs will make. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long!

For my money I think should Dave ever decide he's had enough the others could easily keep the flame alive.

Thats a fair last point PB. I hadn"t really thought of that scenario before, but if that happened then WOULD the others want to keep going??

i would have to say every thing in the 1970's and then after that its you win some you lose some

Well they seemed keen enough when the question was asked at the 40th Anniversary Show Q&A session.

I disagree. No one person is bigger than the band. I've heard this cover band quip a few times now but they all seem to come from the same direction. I do think that Alan's time with the band was an important era with many excellent performances but he's gone now so its onwards and upwards. The past is the past. Welcome to the future.

I agree with what Clumsy Alchemist says entirely. The 'cover band ' slur is getting bit old ( heard Julian Cope quoted as saying that, but who is he to talk? A man whose last half decent efforts go back decades). I think Hawkwind have continually evolved and enjoy all the incarnations of the band. (For me the only exception was their lowest point was when they made the mistake of letting Nik Turner rejoin as front man, during which time they made only a handful of interesting tracks. The other sad thing about that episode was the resulting estrangement with Moorcok.)

If they have a fault it's that they may may tend try to please fans by doing what they think fans want too much. I especially like their more experimental albums, including Dave Brock's solo efforts and especially "White Zone."

Alan made great contributions to the band, and what he learned during his tenure can be heard on his "Eclectic Devils", but Hawkind's strength is that they continually change, like any good band

If that was a cover band I saw last December then it's the best cover band I've ever seen.

They do the very best HW covers!