Xenon/Distant/Alien

[Sara Zaza]

<I too feel Xenon Codex was extremely underrated, and I'm gonna completely
stick my neck out know and guide your thoughts to Distant Horizons.

I like a number of the songs on Xenon but the leaden drumming and esp the
dreaded "gated snare"/Dancing In the Dark drum sound/80's production pretty
much kills the lp for me.  I *was* glad to see the packaging and concept of
the lp reflect an earlier sensibility tho....seemed like the band was back
to being Hawkwind (in concept at least) instead of a metal act with synths.

Distant Horizons is a much different story for me tho.  Love this lp.  I
thought this was the best release in ages, Alchemy, Clouded Vision, Wheels,
and esp Reptoid Vision all blew my mind.  First heard HW as a 15 yr old in
'74 (Space Ritual) in a friend's car on 8-track and was "confused" by the
sound of the band.  By a year later I was "adjusted" for reception....
Followed the band off and on a became a fanatic over the years.

<With the talk of HW old and new am I alone in thinking that the Alien cd,
tour, and subsequent live release are some of the best material that the
band has produced?

Very much enjoy the Love In Space lp/cd/video, Alien 4 has some great songs
but the band sounds a bit stiff, mannered to me.  The live versions rock
harder, with a more adroit delivery.

All the above imho...

John Stanton