HW: Bedouin album - Ginger

[Douglas Pearson]

Steve Swann spake thusly:

>To see what Baker brought to Hawkwind, compare the version of
>"Motorway City" on _Live 79_ to the version on _Levitation_.  The
>version on _Levitation_ *moves* because of that rolling beat that
>Baker uses.  The one on _Live 79_ plods leadenly along with a
>heavy handed thump-thump-thump (who the hell was drumming on that
>album?).

uh ... that would be one Simon King, the best drummer that Hawkwind ever
had!

>Not that I'm putting down Live 79, or whoever was
>the drummer on it, I quite like the album.  But that one song
>sounded like shite just because of the uninspired drumming; and
>Ginger Baker turned it into a positively wonderful tune just
>by fixing that awful static beat.

Funny, my opinion is diametrically opposed - I think that "Motorway City"
is the only song on _Live 79_ that's superior to the studio version (well,
I haven't heard the Blake/Swindells solo versions of "Lighthouse" and "Shot
Down...", but I really dislike the version of "Spirit of the Age").  I
think that the jazzy, rolling beats on _Levitation_ aren't really very
appropriate for Hawkwind, even though I do really like the album.  But I
love Simon King's straight-ahead 2/2 driving beat, although admittedly he
does it far better of, say _Space Ritual_ than _Live 79_.

Just my opinion ...

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com