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Harvestman/US Christmas/Minsk: Hawkwind Triad
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Neurot Recordings (NR 072)
 Every time I hear about a new Hawkwind tribute album I naturally have to check it out since that legendary space rock band has perhaps shaped me more as a human being and spiritual, cosmic being than anything else in the universe. The new Neurot Recordings release Hawkwind Triad includes 11 early 70’s tracks by Hawkwind played by three bands, and I must say that this album won’t let any Hawkwind fan down.
The excellent US Christmas combines heavy psych rock, stoner, space rock and some punk vibes in the own music, and they start off the album with their version of the live favorite “Master of the Universe” putting together a pretty heavy thing somewhere in between Hawkwind and Monster Magnet. Amazing! Harvestman, a project by Neurosis man Steve Von Till also gives us a great and spacey version of Nik’s “D-Rider” where Nik’s beautiful vocals are replaced by a bit snottier but still emotional performance. There are plenty of swooshing oscillators in the mix as well. I’ve never heard the music of Minsk but at least they do excellent Hawkwind covers. “7 X 7” experiences quite a heavy treatment but the psychedelic side of things is enhanced by vocoder and a big pile of synthesizers among other things. The band also took a very necessary flute/sax player along to the studio. Coming up next, is Harvestman’s interesting, acoustic but cosmic space sound-filled version of the song “Down Through the Night”. One of my favorite tracks in the vast Hawkwind back catalogue has always been ”Assault and Battery/The Golden Void”, so I was really keen on hearing what Minsk does with this package. And they do an excellent job! The flute adds some authentic atmosphere, otherwise especially the “Assault…” part is heavier than the original and the vocals are quite harsh. The end part makes the shivers go through your spine as it really should. Superb! Another favorite of mine is “Psychedelic Warlords” and US Christmas has understood the idea of the song perfectly. The acoustic folk piece ”Children of the Sun” gets heavier in the end in Harvestman’s hands. US Christmas’ “Orgone Accumulator” rocks hard and trippy in the punk style and that’s the only way for this song. This is really good, heavy psychedelia! Harvestman has kept Lemmy’s “The Watcher” pretty minimal and then it’s time for the long, hypnotic and repetitive space jam “You Shouldn’t Do That” and US Christmas takes care of it in a sovereign style. Wow! The album is finished with an amazing Harvestman version of “Magnu”.
This album is a superb homage to the veterans of heavy space rock and I like the way the original atmosphere of the tracks has been respected but the bands still make their own versions of them without trying to sound exactly the same. So, the music has most of the time gained some heavier, harder forms but has not lost its lysergic, psychedelic and spacey nature. This is a must-have for all the Hawkwind fans out there!
www.neurotrecordings.com |
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