A little while ago I said that I was looking forward to getting my hands on the new Hawkwind release Take Me to Your Future. I have finally gotten around to buying it and despite some reservations I am certainly not disappointed.
Take Me to Your Future is unusual in that is a dual CD/DVD consisting of a 5 track EP on a one side and 5 Full video track plus extras on the other. .The cover appears to be based on Georgia O Keefe’s 1927 painting Radiator Building.
The five tracks on the CD side are: Uncle Sam’s On Mars, Small Boy, The Reality of Poverty, Ode to a Timeflower and Silver Machine.
Uncle Sam’s On Mars originally appeared on the 1979 album PXR5. The band has a habit of revisiting earlier works with varying degrees of success (Last year’s re workings of Paradox and Spirit of the Age were good but an earlier reworking of Psychedelic Warlords was dreadful). This new version of Uncle Sam is worthy enough: it is an improvement on the original in my view but you are left to question whether it really was necessary.
Small Boy and Ode to a Time Flower will appear on the forthcoming “Calvert Project” – poetry readings by the late, great Robert Calvert will be set to music composed by Dave Brock. According to Starfarer’s site both originally appeared in Centigrade 232, a 1978 collection of Calvert’s poetry and then again on audio cassette in 1988. The accompanying music to Small Boy is soft and atmospheric while Ode to a Time Flower is louder and has a “techno” edge. On the basis of these two tracks I am will certainly be purchasing the Calvert Project when it sees the light of day.
The Reality of Poverty should have appeared on last year’s Take Me to Your Leader (TYTML). I wasn’t too impressed when I first heard it but it is a grower. I am not sure why this was left off TYTML I would have much rather it had been included and the execrable Letter to Robert consigned to the dustbin.
Finally there is another re-recording of the bands biggest hit Silver Machine – My initial feeling was “why bother?” But it works. This is the definitive version of the song and justifies the price alone!
The tracks on the DVD side are Images, Utopia, Assassins of Allah, The Golden Void
Steppenwolf, Don’t be Donkish and Paradox
Images, like most of the other tracks on the DVD side, will appear on future DVD releases; in this case Space Bandits Space Bandits was a patchy affair, featuring Bridget Wishart, the band’s only female vocalist to date (I don’t count Samantha Fox !) Images was one of the highlights of the album. It is a good song and a good video which includes contemporary live video footage.
Utopia will appear on Australia 2000 – a recording of an Australian television broadcast from March 2000. . The band are on good form, the sound and image quality are excellent but perhaps the downside is Harvey Baindbridge’s improvised spoken part. A copy of the video is legally (honest!) available on YouTube courtesy of the bands record label Voiceprint I will let you judge for yourself.
Assassins of Allah (formerly Hassan i Sabha) is taken from the Hawkwind Passport holders only DVD Winter Solstice 2005. Recorded at last year’s Astoria concert, The band were on sparkling form that night and it is good to know that it has been recorded for posterity.
The Golden Void will appear on the re-release of the 1989 Treworgey Fayre concert (again for passport holders only). Great sound but again but the image quality isn’t that good.
Steppenwolf was recorded during rehearsals in 1996 and features the tour dancers practising their choreography. Odd footage but it is really quite enjoyable!
Finally there are photo montages of previous Hawkfests (the band's private festival) and the TYTML launch party A new instrumental, Don’t Be Donkish and a new version of Paradox provide the musical accompaniment
Take me to your Future is basically a sampler album for future releases with a couple of unique tracks/videos thrown in for good measure. Although an essential purchase for an obsessive fan (like me!) it is by no means the best introduction for a new listener. Given that it is available quite cheaply I would imagine that few fans would feel they have been ripped off.
Hawkwind TakeMe ToYour Future
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