Great Rock Albums of 1979: Hawkwind- PXR5

I had never heard of Hawkwind back in 1979. They came to my attention a few years later from an old friend who was a few years older and listened to them quite a lot through the 70's and as far as I know continues to do so. When he treated me to some of their material from the early and mid 70's, I have to admit I was rather impressed. At the time, I made many comparisons to Pink Floyd in the sense that I thought they were one of those groups you listen to when you want to sit in a secluded room while puffing the magic dragon and contemplating the meaning of the universe. I would later discover that none other than Lemmy from Motorhead fame was a former Hawkwind member and that only made me want to check them out more. I got that opportunity when I first got to England. Not one but two of the friends I made in that first year were hardcore fans and treated me to more of their music.

Confession time, "PXR5" is one of those albums I had to rely on YouTube for before I could write about it here. In fact, it was the first time I heard the album in its full glory. I remembered the great tracks "PXR5" and "Robot" and vaguely remember "Uncle Sam's on Mars" mainly due to the amusing title. Now I can say that the rest of the album is just as good. I hear a hard rock edge to it which I like, especially with the opening track "Death Trap," which it doesn't loose. In short, I really like this album.

Track Listing:

1. Death Trap

2. Jack of Shadows

3. Uncle Sam's on Mars

4. Infinity

5. Life Form

6. Robot

7. High Rise

8. PXR5

Hawkwind

Robert Calvert- vocals

David Brock- guitar, keyboards, vocals

Adrian Shaw- bass

Simon House- violin, keyboards

Simon King- drums

What I love about Hawkwind is that fact that it's hard to put them into a nice fitting category. Wikipedia tries to by referring to this album as "space rock" and while I won't debate that, I wouldn't be so quick as to label them. Hawkwind have a unique sound that incorporates a bit of hard rock, progressive rock and some others. That probably makes it perfect listening for when you are in outer space.

Next post: Bob Dylan- Live at Budokan

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