Told, when Hawkwind gate-crashed the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, and Hendrix dedicated a song to ‘the cat with the silver face,’ (Nik Turner), they’d be headlining a bill at the iconic Royal Albert Hall 53 years later, they’d have probably regarded you as suffering from some form of ‘acid psychosis.’ But, here they are, on September 29th 2023, bringing their brand of ‘space rock’ to one of the most prestigious venues.
However, as much as I like Hawkwind and as good as this release is, there’s little doubt that live albums like this are for the already converted ‘Hawk’ fan. Nobody buys a 3CD set like this one thinking they’ll be taking a chance because, with Hawkwind, you always know what you’ll be getting from them .. long spacey riffs, lengthy swirling guitar and synth workouts going in all directions as well as lyrics which roam the cosmos .. and they give you all of these right from the opening number, longtime favourite ‘Levitation.’
This is a hard-rocking electrifying performance with Hawkwind showing just why they’ve been pioneers and leaders in ‘space rock’ for over half a century; with original member, space captain Dave Brock, still steering the ship. The set is a mix of classic Hawkwind tracks which they intersperse with several newer tunes from recent albums like The Future Never Waits and Stories From Time & Space. The show was enlivened by the occasional assistance of the God of Hellfire himself, Arthur Brown, who narrated the track ‘The 10th Second of Forever,’ as well as reciting some of his own cosmic poetry.
As the set progresses, classic tracks like ‘Born To Go,’ ‘Brainstorm,’ ‘Psychedelic Warlords,’ ‘Spirit of the Age’ and ‘Masters of the Universe’ are mixed in alongside more recent tracks like ‘Arrival In Utopia,’ ‘Rama the Prophecy’ and ‘Beginning’. Considering how many times they must’ve played some of their older tracks, they still inject raw energy into them, as seen on ‘Brainstorm,’ played at a slightly faster pace than on the album – it veers into ‘Neurons’ and ‘Black Corridor’ before returning to the original piece. Similar to ‘Born To Go,’ which also incorporates ‘Star Explorer,’ and all played with a power and energy belying the fact all members are of a certain age. Whatever they’re taking I’d like some! The jamming and the occasional medley is redolent of the Hawkwind of old, where jams could go on and on, and often did, which was always a feature of classic Hawkwind gigs.
Despite recent health issues, which hopefully now seem to be under control, the suggestion their summer 2024 gigs might be Hawkwind’s swansong have proven unfounded as they’ve lined up a short tour for 2025, plus are releasing a new studio album. There’s no keeping a good Sonic Assassin down.
