I do remember very vividly how I armed myself against arriving enemies with the sleeve of Warrior On The Edge Of Time. When folded open the sleeve became a cardboard shield which illustrated perfectly the great creativity of the band. Founded at the end of ‘69 as Group X, the band evolved, via the name Hawkwind Zoo, to Hawkwind; this band has always had eyes and ears for detail in order to deliver Art with a big A! That art not only was apparent in their music but also in the sleeve designs. The coming of the compact disc made it difficult to continue to deliver that same Art. The tiny booklet in the kitsch-like cold, static, plastic jewel cases no longer has that Hawkwind feel. Fortunately EMI/Premier has seen how serious this was and has re-released the band’s first albums in digipack replicas. They did whatever it took to finally release the complete artwork even including various extras such as concert posters, exclusive photographs, extra sleeve notes and the almost obligatory bonus tracks. The debut Hawkwind was released in 1970 and must have been quite an eye opener (or should that be "ear opener"?). Whilst the opening track "Hurry On Sundown" still has that hippie-atmosphere, already the band is in that galaxy of psychedelica with the instrumental "The Reason Is?" The following "Be Yourself" paves the way for 25 years of obstinacy signed Hawkwind. "Be Yourself" comes close to the Pink Floyd of the day: the legal LSD-trip can begin! That very same Floyd feeling is apparent in "Seeing It As You Really Are," where we hear the first signs of the patented Hawkwind sound: "a sound is born!" The adoration for the Floyd can also be absorbed in the bonus track "Cymbaline" written by Roger Waters and recorded by Hawkwind Zoo. Reviewed by : John 'Bobo' Bollenberg |
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