Levitation reissue - forum review

witchwood · **Posted:** Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:15 pm

dazzy b wrote:

got mine from amazon this morning , it took about 12 days to arrive ........cant wait to give it a spin later on

You won't be dissappointed my friend.

ROADHAWK · **Posted:** Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:49 pm

Crystal evenings, long ago;
I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the Lewisham concert, the first one I attended. I'm naturally delighted with this release.

Twisted winds and weeping snow;
The light show was amazing. Snow falling and settling on a David Hardy projected landscape, while Hawkwind played “World of Tiers.” It was a storming concert.

Mistakes you've made can't be redeemed;
Gerry Bron missed a trick by declining a proposed Live Album.

The race is run, the time is right;
The bonus 2 disks allows the intended live album to finally be released.

Honest sunsets turn to paint;
I seem to remember Keith Hale supplying vocals to 2 new numbers; only one of which appears here. I remember the second number showing promise, with a swirling melodic conclusion.

Look to the future forget the past;
Unfortunately Keith Hale’s tenure in the line-up proved to be short lived. So this second track never saw the light of day.

Is there anything that can last?
The following year I was offered a ticket to see Toyah in concert at the Hammersmith Odeon. The previous February Toyah had released an interesting single “It’s a Mystery” which had stormed to # 4 in the singles charts. So that was the second group that I ever saw in concert.

Get out your gun it's time to fight;
“It’s a Mystery” was of course written by one Keith Hale. Could this have been the second song that I remember him performing at Lewisham?

The sword you held it turns to rust;
Or is my imagination and memory deceiving me?

And all our dreams just turn to dust;

It's a mystery, oh, it's a mystery
I'm still searching for a clue
It's a mystery to me
A shot in the dark
The big question mark in history
Is it a mystery to you?

voilodian ghagnasdiak · **Posted:** Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:44 pm

Nooo......is Lost Chances on there too?
I'm a go.
Thanks.

Uncle Meat · **Posted:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:58 pm

Got mine yesterday!
Haven't listened to everything yet, but I'm already loving it! This is a greatly produced CD set for sure!

But while I'm all for fancy boxes and stuff, I wonder why this wasn't released as a normal 2-CD set (since - as already pointed out - discs 2&3 would've fit onto one) and why not the HAWKLORDS releases were made as one definite box set?

but anyway, this is DEFINITELY much value for money and a great job as usual by Atomhenge. Man, when I think of some other reissues, these folks really spoil us here!

Ozhawk · **Posted:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:48 pm

Not totally in keeping with this thread but loosely connected. For lovers of the late 70's I recommend viewing this site:

http://www.strangled.co.uk/

On the site is an excellant online fanzine (look to the right of page - how great would a Hawkwind version be!!!). Well in the most recent one Issue 4 it talks about the JJ Burnel solo tour where he was supported by.... Keith Hale's Blood Donor. They get a very good write up. The earlier issues are really impressive. The Stranglers were my love around this era and during 1977/78 they were the band in my opinion and stayed so up until probably 1985 when went really of the boil imo.

The Lewishan show was also my first Hawkwind show, I was 17 and confess to not being familiar with many of the songs. I remember the Synths most. I actually at the time thought it was Tim Blake not realising he had left the group. Tim I was got into via Levitation then heard him with Gong on Radio Gnome Trilogy and thought he was amazing.

Ozhawk

Lost Johnny · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:24 am

Finally got mine. It's a gem! I have only listened to parts. The Lewisham gig has good sound quality and it's great having a remastered version of "Running Through the Back brain." My only quibble is that there are too many versions of "Who's Gonna Win the War." But this a nicely produced box set.

dazzy b · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:42 pm

played it twice thru now and its everything i expected .. the sound is brilliant and the package as a whole is the best yet imo ,postcards are a nice touch also ......superb value for money ,keep em coming

Noggin the Lout · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:36 am

..........so has anyone else noticed that the Hawklords version of Whos gonna win the war is different to the original Flicknife 7".......................?

witchwood · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:19 am

Noggin the Lout wrote:

..........so has anyone else noticed that the Hawklords version of Whos gonna win the war is different to the original Flicknife 7".......................?

I didn't notice that but I do think the Hawklords version is great. It has that punkier edge to it.

sanityclause · **Joined:** Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:15 pm **Posts:** 6

I love this release. I was at this gig, Black star vs Californian sunshine. Sunshine won but black star got to remeber the gig. This album, imho is nearly perfect, i think Levitation itself is perfect. The sound quality is superb. The sound on this Live release is also good. Its not quite Live 79 but it is good. I think Huw shows how good a guitarist he is. Im no expert, my fav guitarist is FZ but its so nice to have a strong Guitar centre piece in the band. This was a powerful gig and it comes through well on the album. The 80's were a good time for me and i remember much of it fondly!

I still keep going to the gigs.

Uncle Meat · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:30 pm

sanityclause wrote:

I love this release. I was at this gig, Black star vs Californian sunshine. Sunshine won but black star got to remeber the gig. This album, imho is nearly perfect, i think Levitation itself is perfect. The sound quality is superb. The sound on this Live release is also good. Its not quite Live 79 but it is good. I think Huw shows how good a guitarist he is. Im no expert, my fav guitarist is FZ but its so nice to have a strong Guitar centre piece in the band. This was a powerful gig and it comes through well on the album. The 80's were a good time for me and i remember much of it fondly!

I still keep going to the gigs.

oh snap!! cheers!!

I'm really enjoying this release, too. Motor Way City was one of the main reasons why I got interested in post-EMI Hawkwind in the first place.

Lost Johnny · **Posted:** Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:17 am

The sound quality is excellent. As with the other Atomhenge releases, it showcases Dave Brock's sonics.

bloop · **Joined:** Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:46 pm **Posts:** 4

Got my copy.
Great Sound, good package.

But, why 2 CDs for the Lewisham Concert? It's only 78 min and could have fitted on one CD.

Mullethead · **Posted:** Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:48 pm

HighRise wrote:

Someone suggested that a review thread should be started so here goes.

I must admit that the original levitation never really did much for me and seemed to be musically quite weak compared to other albums. However after listening to the live recordings on this release it now hits home just how powerfull a sound the band of that era produced. I can't stop playing disc 2 of the set as all songs are superb even HLL manages to play some different riffs (I find that he tends to run out of ideas sometimes and reverts back to playing the same tune). I am assuming that Ginger Baker is the drummer on disc 2 and one thing I don't like is drum beat in the ending of Motor Way City which hasn't got the melodic/atmospheric sound of other live versions of the song. In fact the drum beat sounds exactly like the the following track Death Trap. The live version of Dust of Time is something else when played LOUD.
I have only played discs 1 and 3 once so haven't got much to report on really other than to say the quality is top notch, well done Atomhenge again.

With all due respect to High Rise, I remember reading a review exactly the same as this one on Amazon some months ago. The only difference being that the customer on Amazon was reviewing Live 79 and not Levitation.

Obviously a coincidence.

shadegate · **Joined:** Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:01 pm **Posts:** 28

Had delivery of mine yesterday.What a brilliant album it really highlights Both Huw and Gingers great talents, what a lead guitarist Huw is, and Gingers drumming is amazing. Pity we didn't get the full 12/13 version of Brainstorm which includes that amazing drum solo of Gingers. Indeed every member of the band comes across really well on this album a truly great sound.
I remember seeing them three times on the 1980 Levitation tour. Each time they had a different Synth/Keyboard player.The first time it was Tim Blake i remember that as one of the best Hawk gigs i have seen.The second had Twink on Synths, the last one was Keith Hayles, a different sound altogether but it was a great gig they all seemed to be really enjoying themselves on stage that night.
I have 3/4 bootlegs from that tour which have the full version of Brainstorm with full drum solo and was hoping it would be featured on this latest album. I also remember seeing an ad last year for Live Cardiff 80 a French release which included the full version of Brainstorm, i wonder whatever happened was it released or not. Maybe we will get a proper recording of it one day.

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Levitation reissue - forum review

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