At the beginning of 1976 Hawkwind had signed to Tony Stratton-Smith’s Charisma and recorded their first album for the label, Astonishing Sounds, Amazing Music. With the returning Robert Calvert back onboard things were looking rosy for Dave Brock and his interstellar troupe, but all was not well in the space rockers universe and by the recording of its follow up, Quark, Strangeness And Charm both founder member Nik Turner and drummer Alan Powell were out. The band would only stay with the label for two further albums: 25 Years On in 1978 (released under the “Hawklords” moniker) and the following 1979’s semi-live album PXR 5. By 1979 Calvert was back in the wilderness and Hawkwind had moved on to Bronze for their next phase when studio project Levitation grabbed the attention of a growing NWOBHM crowd. Days Of The Underground: The Studio & Live Recordings set focuses on those three years with Charisma, and alongside three new mixes of the studio albums with Calvert (Quark, Strangeness And Charm, 25 Years On and PXR 5) contains a disc of studio out-takes from the Rockfield QSAC sessions, four CD’s of live recording from 1977/78 plus two Blu-rays containing Steve Wilson’s 5.1 and Stereo mixes of the three studio albums with bonuses.
Straight out of the box (literally) the set opens with the Hawk’s classic Quark, Strangeness And Charm. Although the bands years with United Artists had been fruitful with In Search Of Space and Doremi Fasol Latido producing tracks like ‘Master Of The Universe’ and ‘Brainstorm’ respectively, it was only on Quark that the Calvert/Brock writing team truly hit its stride on the timeless ‘Spirit Of The Age’, ‘Damnation Alley’ and the albums title track. It also includes the hypnotic ‘Hassan I Sahba’ melding ethnic chants and Middle Eastern folklore with the realities of the oil embargo (nothing changes), each of which would go on to feature within the live set for the next forty plus years. Steven Wilson has managed to lift the individual elements sometimes hidden within the famous Hawkwind drone to add power and depth to those original recordings. Quark comes with three bonus track plus a whole disc of The Rockfield Studio Sessions 1977 which, along with jam sessions, extended versions and out-takes includes an incredible full blown 11 minute version of ‘Spirit Of The Age’ as well as a mash up of ‘Quark, Strangeness And Charm’ and a track destined for PXR 5 ‘Uncle Sam’s On Mars’ and the spacey unreleased track ‘Cake Out’, a live version of which would surface on The Weird Tapes compilation in 1980.
Although released ahead of PXR 5, 25 Years On was actually recorded after its follow up. Once again ‘PSI Power’, with all its new wave pop, and the power chant of ’25 Years’ prove that the key writing team are on top form and along with lesser known tracks ‘Freefall’, the Jefferson Airplane-sy ‘The Only Ones’ and the thought provoking ‘(Only) The Dreams Of The Cold War Kid’ (“covering his fear with clever camouflage”) which show a smoother side in this Hawklords configuration without losing the “wind” from their sails as displayed on the bad boy Antipodean tale of the ‘Flying Doctor’. 25 Years On comes with an impressive nine bonus tracks the most noteworthy being a refreshing acoustic take on ‘The Only Ones’, the bass heavy ‘Freefall (Take Two)’ and the closing guitar/drum freak-out simply called ‘Digger Jam’ as well as a version of ’25 Years’ which is a little to reminiscent of their earlier hit ‘Silver Machine’ for comfort (probably the reason they opted for a later take). By the conclusion of the Hawklords tour however the revolving door had added to its victims ultimately jettisoning Calvert amongst others. Contract fulfilling PXR 5 still remains (for me) an inconstant effort with its combination of studio and live recordings. “Uncle Sam’s on Mars”, the DALEK soaked “Robot” and “High Rise” were recorded on the previous tour and then polished in the studio to bulk out the release. However ‘Death Trap’ and the aforementioned ‘High Rise’ do float to the top placing Hawkwind by numbers efforts like the forward thinking environmental anthem ‘Uncle Sam’s On Mars’ and the title track in their shadow. Added bonuses include the unreleased ‘We Like To Be Frightened’, an alternative take of ‘Robot’ with reduced DALEK, ‘Jack Of Shadows’ with bass player Andy Shaw on vocals as well as the three contemporary singles cuts of ‘PSI Power’, ’25 Years’ and ‘Death Trap’.
All of the above will be standard fare for the Hawkwind illuminati and for them the real values within this box will be the four live discs (along with the 5.1 surround sound mixes on the Blu-rays for the audiophiles). First up on Disc Five is a set list comprising takes from Croydon on 25th September 1977 and the Ipswich show at The Gaumont two nights later which makes up a good representation of the set list played on the extensive Quark, Strangeness & Charm tour across the UK and Europe. Disc Six contains an edited ten track live outing recorded in Leicester just two nights further into the tour but still includes all the highlights, ‘Brainstorm’, ‘Robot’ plus, of course, ‘Spirit Of The Age’, ‘Sonic Attack’ with its Calvert rap leading into ‘Damnation Alley’ and In Search Of Space‘s ‘Master Of The Universe’. It also includes a Calvert high point in the shape of the Hesse inspired ‘Steppenwolf’ where the vocalist totally occupies the “Man Wolf” persona then slides effortlessly into ‘High Rise’. The Barnstable show represented on Disc Seven find Brock and Calvert joined by Ark members Harvey Bainbridge (bass), Paul Hayles (keyboards) and Martin Griffin (drums) as the “Sonic Assassins” to run through some tracks rarely played on the main bands tour such as ‘Golden Void’, the ‘Magnu/Angel Of Life’ pairing and ‘Over The Top’. Despite the night’s technical issues this one-off show was previously made available on the five track Sonic Assassins EP which has now been expanded to seven glorious tracks. Finally the live-fest is concluded with the Hawklords Uxbridge gig from November 1978. Probably the punchiest set here as it includes Hawklord pinnacles ’25 Years’ and ‘PSI Power’ along side ‘High Rise’, Death Trap, Spirit Of The Age’, ‘Brainstorm’ as well as adding the controversial top 40 hit ‘Urban Guerrilla’.
Topping off the collection are a pair of Blu-ray discs containing the Steven Wilson 5.1 and stereo mixes of the studio albums. Unfortunately the review copy didn’t include the Blu-rays but for those with the equipment to benefit I’m sure you will find the 5.1 mix will add to the new stereo mixes clarity and separation which finds just the right level of polish and gloss without removing the edginess. An effect I would refer to as satin. The Blu-rays also include a couple of visual gems, a rather dated ‘Quark, Strangeness & Charm’ appearance from the ‘Marc’ (Bolan) TV show with Calvert on stuffed hawk but no sign of Brock plus the slightly grainy ‘PSI Power’ and ’25 Years’ promotional films from the Hawklords show featured on the final audio disc proving Calvert’s credentials as the consummate frontman with Brock in his then customary white coat.
The only thing which could have been added to this set is a copy of the remastered Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music CD to round off the Charisma years. However this set shows that the foundations that have sustained Hawkwind for over 50 years were very much built in those Calvert fronted days with albums with the strength of Quark, Strangeness & Charm and their formidable live presence. With a new studio album, The Future Never Waits due in April (also via Cherry Red Records) The Hawks are still very much a going concern today both in the studio and in the live arena. Long may they remain the “Masters Of The Musical Universe”.
- Reviewed By Peter Brockwell.
- Days Of The Underground – The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979 is released via Cherry Red Records/Atomhenge on 31st March 2023.
- Official Website
Track List:
Disc One: Quark, Strangeness And Charm – The Steven Wilson remix
1. Spirit of the Age
2. Damnation Alley
.3 Fable of a Failed Race
4. Quark, Strangeness AND Charm
5. Hassan I Sahba
6. The Forge of Vulcan
7. The Days of the Underground
8. The Iron Dream
Bonus Tracks:
9. Damnation Alley (live studio version)
10. A minor Jam session
11. Spirit of the Age (demo excerpt)
Disc Two: The Rockfield Studio Sessions 1977
1. Damnation Alley (first version)
2. Spirit of the Age (full version)
3. The Days of the Underground (first version)
4. Quark, Strangeness AND Charm / Uncle Sam’s on Mars
5.Fable of a Failed Race (extended version)
6. Cake Out
7. Fahrenheit 451 (jam session)
8. Century X (jam session)
Disc Three: Hawklords – 25 Years On – The Steven Wilson remix
1. PSI Power
.2 Freefall
3. Automoton
4. 25 Years
5. Flying Doctor
6. The Only Ones
7. (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid
8. The Age of the Micro Man
Bonus Tracks:
9. The Only Ones (acoustic demo)
10. (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid (demo)
11. Freefall (Take Two)
12. Automoton (full version)
13. 25 Years (Take One)
14. Flying Doctor (live studio rehearsal)
15. (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid (Take Two)
16. The Age of the Micro Man (Take One)
17. Digger Jam
Disc Four: PXR 5 – The Steven Wilson remix
1. Death Trap
2. Jack of Shadows
3. Uncle Sam’s On Mars
4. Infinity
5. Life Form
6. Robot
7. High Rise
8. P.X.R. 5
Bonus Tracks:
9. Jack of Shadows (live studio version)
10. High Rise (live studio version)
11. We Like to Be Frightened
12. Robot (first overdubbed version)
13. Jack of Shadows (Adrian Shaw vocal version)
14. PSI Power (single version)
15. 25 Years (single version)
16. Death Trap (single version)
Disc Five: Live September 1977 – Fairfield Hall, Croydon & The Gaumont, Ipswich
1. Brainstorm *
2. High Rise *
3. Robot *
4. Wind of Change *
5. Jack of Shadows *
6. Spirit of the Age **
7. Sonic Attack **
8. Damnation Alley **
9. Uncle Sam’s on Mars / The Iron Dream **
10. Quark, Strangeness And Charm **
11. Master of the Universe **
12. Welcome to the Future **
* Live, Croydon, 1977
** Live, Ipswich, 1977
Disc Six: Live September 1977 – De Montfort Hall, Leicester
1. Brainstorm
2. Steppenwolf
3. High Rise
4. Robot
5. Spirit of the Age
6. Sonic Attack
7. Damnation Alley
8. Uncle Sam’s on Mars /The Iron Dream
9. Master of the Universe
10. Welcome to the Future
Disc Seven: Sonic Assassins – Queensway Hall, Barnstaple – 23rd December 1977
1. Golden Void
2. Magnu/Angels of Life
3. Freefall
4. Death Trap
5. Over the Top
6. Master of the Universe
7. Welcome to the Future
Disc Eight: Hawklords – Brunel University, Uxbridge – 24th November 1978
1. Automoton
2. 25 Years
3. High Rise
4. Death Trap
5. The Age of the Micro Man
6. Spirit of the Age
7. Urban Guerrilla
8. Sonic Attack
9. PSI Power
10. Brainstorm
Disc Nine: Quark Strangeness And Charm – Steven Wilson’s 5.1 Surround Sound And Stereo mixes (96kHz / 24-bit)
1. Spirit of the Age
2. Damnation Alley
3. Fable of a Failed Race
4. Quark, Strangeness And Charm
5. Hassan I Sahba
6. The Forge of Vulcan
7. The Days of the Underground
8. The Iron Dream
Bonus Visual Content:
1. Quark, Strangeness AND Charm (‘Marc’ TV show 1977)
Disc Ten: 25 Years On – Steven Wilson’s 5.1 surround sound & stereo mixes (96kHz / 24-bit)
1. PSI Power
2. Freefall
3. Automoton
4. 25 Years
5. Flying Doctor
6. The Only Ones
7. (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid
8. The Age of the Micro Man
Bonus Visual Content:
Hawklords – Brunel University, Uxbridge 24th November 1978 (video)
1. PSI Power (promotional film 1978)
2. 25 Years (promotional film 1978)
P.X.R. 5 – Steven Wilson’s 5.1 Surround Sound & stereo mixes (96kHz / 24-bit):
1. Death Trap
2. Jack of Shadows
3. Uncle Sam’s On Mars
4. Infinity
5. Life Form
6. Robot
7. High Rise
8. P.X.R. 5
