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There's two "Sonic Attack" versions on the 1997 "The Ambient Anarchists" compo. One's the title track from the 1981 album, of course... but where's the other one from? It starts off really muffled, and then really kicks ambient ass. However, it doesn't even remotely match up with any HW bootleg tape that I've ever heard.

Also, it's not listed on Steve's "Hawkwind Codex" page on starfarer.net - which made me wonder if it's an unofficial version done by some "friends and relations" or whoever ?

PS: I know we're only supposed to discuss official output in this forum, but this compo was released by EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) and had liner notes by Brian Tawn - and that sounds pretty official to me, lol

I believe you'll find it is the same as the version which was a 'b side' of the "Love in Space" EP released around 1996. Note the version of Love in Space that appears about 4 tracks later on the same compilation I believe is the same version but with a different mix/production so is unique to this compilation

Now someone tell me I'm wrong

I only owned 'Ambient Anarchists' briefly when it came out but I think 'Sonic Attack' was from 'Future Reconstructions - Ritual Of The Solstice'. There should be a credit to 'The Knights Of The Occasional Table' somewhere who done the re-mix. And I think the source was not a bootleg but the Atomhenge 1976 version, really sparse with little backing, perfect for remixing.

JephraimToe wrote:I only owned 'Ambient Anarchists' briefly when it came out but I think 'Sonic Attack' was from 'Future Reconstructions.......' .

Oh wow... so I bought a dodgy compilation, did I

Oops... good job I kept the receipt!

hawkfanatic wrote:I believe you'll find it is the same as the version which was a 'b side' of the "Love in Space" EP released around 1996. Note the version of Love in Space that appears about 4 tracks later on the same compilation I believe is the same version but with a different mix/production so is unique to this compilation

Now someone tell me I'm wrong

From memory, I believe you are correct.

Wow, cool, I like the hide/show spoiler code... I didn't know we could do that on this forum.

I wasn't joking about keeping the receipt... I tuck my receipts into all my Hawkwind shop purchases, and I can prove I bought this poisoned challice (??) on 18 Oct '97 at HMV Records.

At 11:26.

(What the bloody hell was I doing out of bed at that time of the morning??)

graham wrote:(What the bloody hell was I doing out of bed at that time of the morning??)

Not staying up half the night on the Hawkwind forum?

That Hawkwind receipt gives me the heebee jeebees, I spent so much money on Hawkwind related stuff in nineties. I was addicted

graham wrote:There's two "Sonic Attack" versions on the 1997 "The Ambient Anarchists" compo. One's the title track from the 1981 album, of course... but where's the other one from? It starts off really muffled, and then really kicks ambient ass. However, it doesn't even remotely match up with any HW bootleg tape that I've ever heard.

Also, it's not listed on Steve's "Hawkwind Codex" page on starfarer.net - which made me wonder if it's an unofficial version done by some "friends and relations" or whoever ?

The absence of this version from the Codex suggests to me that it was left out because it's the one by Knights of the Occasional Table. But I could so easily be wrong... updating the Codex always fries my brain, and the earliest content in it was put together by Mike Holmes & Jill Strobridge anyway. Not sure whether the tracks from Ambient Anarchists were added by me after I took it on, or were there before I was the custodian of it.

I could get it out and listen to it but then I'd have to take Bowie's "Low" off the turntable.

Steve

An amazon review which sums up better than I could, what is Ambient Anarchists.

"This is quite a rarity, unlike a lot of Hawkwind compilations AMBIENT ANARCHISTS there's a good deal of worthwhile and rare stuff on here. First to jump out at me was the re-recorded version of PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS (originally from the b-side of the 10th anniversary SILVER MACHINE single) featuring Huw Lloyd-Langton on vocals. Also there's bunch of tracks from P.X.R.5, SONIC ATTACK, ALIEN 4 and CHURCH OF HAWKWIND - all of which are seriously out of print - and some versions of songs that I've never heard before; MOTORWAY CITY sure isn't the version on LIVE 79, LEVITATION or ZONES and the live version of HASSAN I SAHBA (ASSASSIN) is the best I've ever heard (from LOVE IN SPACE, I think).

As with all Hawkwind collections though, there's a lot of mistakes going on (track mis-labelling) and those looking forward to hearing HIGH RISE are out of luck, the track is actually P.X.R.5. SONIC ATTACK on disc 2 is a credited to The Advent when it is fact the "re-constructed" version by The Knights Of The Occasional Table (from the FUTURE RECONSTRUCTIONS CD).

As the disc's title might imply, this 2CD set focuses on the more electronic / leftfield side to Hawkwind but nevertheless stands head and shoulders among other compilations that promise rare or unreleased material. "

Thanx for the info, guys!

JephraimToe wrote:

graham wrote:(What the bloody hell was I doing out of bed at that time of the morning??)

Not staying up half the night on the Hawkwind forum?

Wow, these were the dark ages before I had a PC, and I didn't even know what the internet was, back in 1997!

Some people were online back then, and I think there was a HW/BOC newsgroup or something. I didn't get online til late 1998, the age when it was dead cool to have a personal page on Geocities

In the German Amazon-Store AMBIENT ANARCHISTS for a pretty long time was listed as
AMBIENT ANTICHRISTS

just down from Church of Hawkwind then...

always liked it for it's not so obvious tracks