This Is Hawkwind Do Not Panic

Description

Despite taking its title from the classic Space Ritual-era Sonic Attack, the bulk of This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic dates, in fact, from a full eight years on, as the revived band sold out a string of U.K. theaters in the run-up to Christmas 1980, including this show at Londons Lewisham Odeon. By the standards that Space Ritual set, of course, This Is Hawkwind is little more than an average live album. By those standards established by the myriad other live Hawkwind albums one could choose from, however, it is one of the best, in terms of both sound and performance. Featuring the New Wave of British Heavy Metal-styled guitars of Huw Lloyd Langton, and with the surprise recruitment of legendary drummer Ginger Baker still catching peoples eyes, the set opens with a densely punky Psi Power, then moves on through crunchily dramatic takes on Levitation, Shot Down in the Night, and a Death Trap that could have fallen off Warrior on the Edge of Time, before wrapping up with a positively triumphant Shot Down in the Night. (Two further tracks from this same concert appeared on the album Zones.) That covers Sides One and Two of the original vinyl. The remainder of the double package is devoted to two excerpts from the bands appearance at the 1984 Summer Solstice festival at Stonehenge, a lengthy (eight minute) improvisation bearing the optimistic title Stonehenge Decoded, and Nik Turners short, sharp and, again, deeply NWOBHM-tinged Watching the Grass Grow. In truth, these final cuts do break the rhythm built up by the Lewisham show festivals always bring out the weird in Hawkwind but still This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic stands as one of the few truly crucial Hawkwind archive sets released since that particular vault first creaked open. ~ Dave Thompson