Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hawkwind
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1970
Length: 39:35
Rating: 3.5/5
Hawkwind, the British pioneers of space rock and one of the most colorful progressive rock bands of all time, a group you practically can’t squeeze into any one box, made it clear on their self-titled debut that this was anything but your average gang of musical talents. The band was born in 1969 out of the vision of blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Dave Brock, still the only original member today, who wanted to put together a group that could mix three-to-four-chord blues rock with electronics. By his own account, Brock soaked up the sonic ingredients that mark the debut, and that show up in more or less refined form on later Hawkwind albums too, from bands like The Moody Blues, Steve Miller Band and the German krautrock scene led by acts like Can and Neu. He’s also never hidden his fascination with early Gong and Pink Floyd, whose psychedelic-avant-garde experiments in the second half of the sixties had a huge influence on the way the ‘hawk wind’ would go on to sound. And with Pink Floyd, Hawkwind also shared a taste for psychedelic substances, which, for better and worse, shaped a big chunk of their career.
Their self-titled debut was a mix of hard blues rock, which peaked in the late sixties, and psychedelia, with plenty of scattered but pioneering electronic effects courtesy of keyboardist Dik Mik (real name Michael Davies). The lyrics were a long way from the later sci-fi themes, but even then they touched on some of the problems of modern society, like paranoia, schizophrenia, narcissism and above all drugs. It’s no secret that Brock once said he ‘wants to make music that can take the listener on an unforgettable psychedelic-cosmic trip without the use of (illegal) substances’. Most of the lead vocals on “Hawkwind” were sung by Brock, who was also the main guitarist, an extra keyboardist and the author of all the compositions. The whole album was recorded in the studio, but after several failed attempts they decided to play the songs ‘live’, as if they were performing right in front of an audience, and you can hear it. Hawkwind were always one of those bands that sounded more convincing live than in the studio. The album was produced by former Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor, who also spent some time with the band as a touring member before the record came out.
“Hawkwind” opens with “Hurry On Sundown”, which was written back in 1969, when they were still called Hawkwind Zoo. It’s the best-known track on the album and the only one the band kept paying attention to in later years, though it would be a stretch to call it a classic. At its core it’s a pretty compact blues rocker by Hawkwind standards, with a pinch of psychedelia and folk, built on a bouncy rhythm, a simple melody on acoustic guitar and rustling harmonica. They show their true experimental side for the first time on the electronic-avant-garde orgy “The Reason Is?”, where Dik Mik lays down monotone synth textures to create a properly nightmarish psychedelic ambient piece. “Be Yourself” is laced with plenty of complex improvisations, especially on saxophone from Nik Turner. A bluesy guitar solo adds to the ‘stoned’ atmosphere, while it’s all held together by a rattling bass line from John A. Harrison. This one is a kind of overture to the later, extremely complex space rock orgies, which were full of wild improvisations, muffled electronic effects and sudden bursts of wind instruments.
“Paranoia” is split into two connected parts. What they have in common is that, through a rhythmically repeating fusion of frenzied electronic effects and out-of-tune guitar phrases, both manage to conjure up a truly paranoid ambient atmosphere. You could also take it as a sort of testing ground for how far an individual is willing to sail into the more or less chaotic and unpredictable Hawkwind universe. Anyone with frayed nerves and a delicate soul will definitely drop out here.
The nearly 11-minute psychedelic madhouse “Seeing It As You Really Are”, which radiates the influence of the psychedelic substances that went into its creation the whole way through, is the most ambitious piece on the entire album. Its opening section is yet another debauched electronic orgy with plenty of more or less unnatural sounds. Even so, Brock’s run of guitar phrases later on brings in a lovely melody and steadies the completely chaotic structure of this psychedelic odyssey a little. In the end Nik Turner crashes it, in a good way, with totally ‘out of place’ sax improvisations, and any attempt at making head or tail of it collapses in an instant. The closing psychedelic merry-go-round “Mirror Of Illusion” opens with rattling percussion from drummer Terry Ollis, after which Brock lays down a solid blues rock melody on guitar, while scattered, psychedelic-flavored electronic effects keep chiming in from the keyboards in the background.
Hawkwind’s debut is an impressively solid opening to the long, winding creative road of the most notorious pioneers of space rock. Like most debuts from prog rock legends, it has its ups and downs, though overall the good definitely outweighs the bad. Even though it didn’t bring them any commercial success, Hawkwind, with their eccentric, extravagant live shows and a special focus on innovative stage lighting, managed to get themselves noticed even then, especially on the British ‘underground’ music scene. “Hawkwind” may not be one of the career highs of these legendary space rockers, but it’s undoubtedly one of the pioneering albums of progressive rock and the cornerstone for the later development of their trademark style. First and foremost, it’s still the early Gong and Pink Floyd fans and the lovers of the German krautrock scene who’ll get the most out of it today.
Line-up
Dave Brock – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Nik Turner – saxophone, flute, vocals
Huw Lloyd-Langton – guitar, vocals
John A. Harrison – bass guitar, vocals
Dik Mik (Michael Davies) – synthesizer
Terry Ollis – drums
Production
Dick Taylor and Hawkwind
Track list
1. Hurry On Sundown
2. The Reason Is?
3. Be Yourself
4. Paranoia – Part 1
5. Paranoia – Part 2
6. Seeing It as You Really Are
7. Mirror of Illusion
