Hawkwind - 50 Live.

Hawkwind 50 Live
(Cherry Red)
9/10
By Paul Davies

From the nearby Mountain Grill (Portobello Raod) to the hallowed Royal Albert Hall, it’s been one long and engaging sonic adventure to a cosmic fifty years. A continuing trip so good it'll outlast each current member of this far-out outfit as it has previous legendary members. As with every Hawkwind release and containing a judicious selection of back-cat tracks with newly released songs from All Aboard The Skylark, this timepiece release places the band firmly in the starry firmament of artists that have left their inimitable mark on this venue.

From opener Motorway City to closing track Welcome To The Future, Dave Brock's band of stupefyingly intense co-musicians play the gig of their lives. During which there’s a nice gesture to one of the band's former legendary members as the Lemmy penned The Watcher brings guest performer Phil Campbell onstage to thunder his way through this and Silver Machine.

Like a mad scientist frantically searching for the formula to life, the universe, and everything, the irrepressible Tim Blake waves his hands centre stage to conjure otherworldly sounds from his Theremin; charismatically blending with Magnus Martin's trance-like keyboards to create the ethereal signature spacey soundscapes of these well-travelled souped up sonic troopers. However, the core of Niall Hone’s bass and Richard Chadwick's inexhaustible drumming is the propulsion that launches this re-fitted ancient craft of space-rock.

It's crystal clear, from this release, that this show brought the band and their dedicated audience joyously together in high praise of this singular ongoing musical entity. Without a doubt, Hawkwind debunks the belief that everything passes away with time and grows old on this milestone portal into their timeless body of work.