Hawkestrel - 2020 - Pioneers of Space

(46:01; Purple Pyramid Records)






















Alan Davey continues his work on providing new forms of space rock with plenty of guests on this Hawkestrel’s second album, released last year. Here we get a mix of covers and originals, and he has brought in many well-known musicians including Todd Rundgren, former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, prog legend David Cross, electric violinist L. Shankar, Arthur Brown and MC5’s Wayne Kramer. The lead single from the album was “Day Of The Quake”, which is a revamp of a rare early ‘80s recording from Robert Calvert. Davey says, “This masterclass of English poetics gets married up to some up-tempo exciting music I wrote with the one and only Mick Taylor guesting on lead guitar and the legendary Nik Turner on sax.”

Hawkwind have gone through one or two musicians, it must be said, and I think they have had 11 bassists since they were formed, but while Lemmy will always be the most famous, Davey has the longest tenure in that role (in two stints). While playing in a very different style to Lemmy, much more in the way of single notes as opposed to chords, his sound was always prominent and that is still the case here, so no matter who is playing or singing on each song (there is a listing of 20 others involved on this album), he is at the forefront and brings it all together. The result is something that fans of Hawkwind will enjoy, not only for so many luminaries being involved, but also as it is quite an enjoyable album. Tracks such as “Cosmic Divide” show the quieter elements of the band, with some gorgeous flute, while others are more jagged and harsh and yet others are full on space rock as we would expect. There is only one Nik Turner, and his sax stands out a mile when it is deployed.

Whereas one of his other outfits, Alan Davey's Psychedelic Warlords, are an actual band, Hawkestrel appears to be a project where he utilises old and new recordings. Consequently, this album features contributions from at least three musicians who are no longer with us, but overall, this is a pleasant listen and certainly stands up against some Hawkwind releases.

Kev Rowland, August 2021

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063574390292
https://www.facebook.com/PurplePyramidRecords/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...
Read more