Spacebrock

by François CoutureSpacebrock was released as a new Hawkwind album in late 2000. (It feels necessary to be precise about this after all the archival material issued during the 1990s.) Dave Brock is in full control of the spaceship, handling vocals, guitar, keyboards, and special effects. Dr. Technical contributes drum tracks, while Hawkman handles bass and violin. Many other guests provide material on specific tracks, but this is basically a Brock album. It begins with two pieces taken from movies. "Some People Never Die" (which includes TV host commentaries at JFK's shooting) had appeared in a slightly different form as "Assassination" on The Weird Tapes No. 1. It is one of the most powerful tracks on this CD. "Dreamers" has beautiful spoken lyrics. "You Burn Me Up" is a typical Hawkwind rock anthem and should be an instant live favorite. "Sex Dreams" is two inches away from being a club track ("Do You Want This Body" crosses the line), and features a sexy female voice asking the question "Ever thought about having a dream during sex?" over and over. Hawkwind's message is still true to the original: take care of Mother Earth, free yourself from the alienating corporate world, have fun, and dream. The musical vision oscillates between dance tracks and ethereal space songs with the band's hard rock stylings still standing firmly in the middle; the whole picture is of kaleidoscopic proportions. Spacebrock is enjoyable, but there are more important items in the band's discography.