Niks sax in early HW (LONG) (was: HW: Moi's review)

[cjohnson]

       >>...the BOC-L consensus was that Nik's saxophone
       >>sounded like an "asthmatic waterfowl".   :-)

       >Yeah, well some of us LIKE the "asthmatic waterfowl" effect!
       >In fact, Nik's mutant sax playing is one of the rough edges I find
       >sorely lacking in post-"Golden Era" Hawkwind (after '78 or so?).

       The 'old waterfowl' seemed to fit in a lot better when the rest of
       the members of the band were not playing much better.  I love the
       old HW -- S.R. is what got me into this band in the first place --
       but they were definitely not known for any virtuousity or technical
       musicianship (back then).  I believe that drugs and extended improv
       were the rule of the day, and this seemed to feed even more on the
       rotating roster of varying-skills musicians (perhaps caused it?).

       Take a look at "Text of Festival" for a more-or-less typical early
       live show.  After the first couple of songs, the rest of the show
       turns into one looooonnnngggg improv session.  In comparison, the
       "Space Ritual" was a series of (extended version) songs, separated
       by poems and short spoken pieces.  In extreme contrast, the
       "Hawklords Live" CD has removed most/all of the improv and extended
       jam from the music, replacing them with emphasis on Lead guitar.

       In the light of the earlier HW, a typical "freak out"(TM) from any
       of the players would not only be accepted, but the rule.  The extra
       ooomph provided was often enough to push an flimsy improv song into
       the realm of the sublime.

       When the band frequently consisted of a guitar, a bass, a drummer,
       two electronic noise-makers (remember: no synths at this time), and
       a front-man/sax&flute player, there was a lot of room for any one
       individual to provide major input.  Later HW incarnations with
       multiple guitars and/or keyboards allowed overlapping of duties,
       and reduced the central role each player served.

       This emphasis on pulling inspiration from the (drug of the) moment
       worked well with Nik's contributions to Hawkwind.  If other people
       were going to be playing crazy jams, he could do that too.  And
       what's more, in the context of that kind of music, IT SOUNDED
       PRETTY GOOD!  I would greatly miss Nik's input on "Doremi.." or "In
       Search of Space" if they had NOT let him add that sax stuff.  And
       Nik's saxopohone playing has always reminded me of a hippy freak
       out... :-)

       BTW I've often considered Lemmy's contributions to early HW in the
       same light.  He is (was?) exceptional at producing bass fills, no
       matter how repetitive the improv jam he was accompanying.  And his
       drug intake was (is?) of prodigious proportions.

       By the time that Calvert joined full-time, HW seemed to be making a
       much more serious effort to produce polished, complete thoughts in
       their songs.  Less and less of the 'stoned hippy jams' that had
       almost no middle or end, but just went on and on and on and on.

       In the context of more skilled players, musical "personalities"
       such as Nik had less and less place (coincidentally they canned
       Lemmy around then too).  At about the same time, Nik seems to have
       begun spending less time in HW as a musician, and more as a front
       man and stage entertainer.  This, of course, emphasized his
       separation from the rest of the band, and probably produced
       numerous clashes with Brock, and later Lloyd-Langton also.
       Eventually, they kicked Nik out once and for all.

       In contrast, Calvert seemed to handle the same process in a
       similar but more accepted manner.  Like Nik, his stage
       personalities became quite extreme (possibly nudged on by drugs),
       while his musicianship became stricter and more focused.  Witness
       the many albums Calvert was closely involved with in the late
       seventies (HW and solo).  A much higher standard was applied to
       these releases, compared to the meandering of early HW.

       Brock, of course, seems to have evolved quite well as a musician
       while the band matured too, but hey -- you might argue that he
       always WAS the most significant contributer to new AND old HW.


       (Whoops, this is turning into a thesis.  Sorry about the length!
       And I didn't even comment on the relevance of stricter
       musicianship being a detriment to inspiration...)

       Captain Cloud