HW: Mr Beardy's Quim

[Jonathan Jarrett]

On Thu, Jan 17, 2002 at 03:38:15AM -0000, Richard Lockwood typed out:
> (I'm going to get a kicking for this one...)
>
> After hearing so many good things about Mr Quimby's beard, I've finally sat
> down and downloaded some tracks. Hmm.  Splendid.  If I'd never heard
> Hawkwind, or Alien Planetscapes, I'd think it was fantastic.
>
> Maybe I need to get back to smoking those funny big herbal cigarettes
> (Something I've not done for many a year now) but to me it sounds like a
> bunch of blokes doing a very good Hawkwind impersonation.
>
> Emporer's new clothes, or have I missed the point?

        That was more or less the impression they gave at the Forum gig,
but I think there's a shortage of such stuff around so I didn't really
mind. The vocal styles are different, I don't think Hawkwind ever had a
singer that sounded like that, but I'm yet to be sure whether or not I
like it... (And I still haven't got any AP so don't know how that
compares) What it lacks, to me, is the edge that HW seem to have got from
not really knowing what it was they were doing. So it's as smooth as the
later stuff, _Electric Tepee_ onwards, but has a feel more like _Live '79_
in terms of togetherness and structure. Not the ideal combination then,
but still very good. Depends whether you're searching for something new or
you don't mind getting the same trip recycled. I had given up expecting
new things of the British side of the genre until I happened on _Return to
Earth_ by Starfield which is certainly getting there. (I owe Captain Black
a review still... ) Yours,
                           Jon

--
        Jonathan Jarrett                Birkbeck College, London
                 jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk
        --------------------------------------------------------
  "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away." (Tom Waits)