DOREMI FASOL LATIDO

Doh a deer, a female deer!

This was Hawkwind's third album, and the follow up to the excellent "In search of space".

"Doremi.." (in case anyone has not spotted it, the title is taken from the Do Re Mi scales) is slightly more mainstream rock, with the jazz influences apparent on the previous album, largely pushed to the background. Those influences are however still around, as evidenced by the CD bonus track "Ejection".

The opening track, "Brainstorm" is 11 minutes of heads down driving rock with an incessant pounding beat. "Space is deep", is lighter with a melodic, acoustic feel. "Lord of light" restores the driving pace, the bonus single edit benefiting from phasing effects.

"Down through the night" reverts to the acoustic Hawkwind, while "Time we left this world today" is a somewhat over long chant. The closing track, "The watcher" is a light throwaway track.

The bonus tracks on the CD remaster are excellent, "Brainbox pollution" is a great piece of pounding jazz rock.

"Doremi.." shows the band moving on well, and developing their own sound which would serve them well in the years to come. Pick up the digi-pack version of the CD if you can, the packaging is superb.

The first of the classic line-up with Lemmy as bassist and Simon King as the drummer. You would think this was a big change but no ! Compared to In Search Of Space , this rythm section does not add anything more than its predecessor and re-listening to this again re-enforces my feeling that Lemmy's rep is slightly overdone as a musician , but certainly not as a party animal. Brainstorm and Lord are the highlights but I do prefer the previous album.

According to A.R.I. - Atkingani Research Institute, this was probably (I enjoy the accuracy of this 'Institute') the first Hawkwind release in Brazil but I discovered it only after "Mountain Grill" and "Warrior" meaning that I heard newer material before the older ones what dimmed the impact of "Doremi Fasol Latido".

Also I believe that the LP copy I had in the 70s (really not mine but a borrow from a friend) included the hit 'Silver Machine' that appears as a bonus track for the 1992 CD release. Well, the copy I listened to could have been a bootleg, who knows? Or could have been a product for the Brazilian market where we had a tradition of at least 12 tracks per album?

But I remember vividly seeing in the TV, the clip or demo of 'Silver Machine', with the song and the band being presented by Stacia amid bubbles and lights; it happened more than 25 years ago when MTV didn't exist but we had here many musical programs dispersed thru several channels.

Perhaps, hearing the songs again, if I had initiated with "Doremi." I should be a less devoted Hawk-fan. Perhaps. I remember the tracks didn't affect me the same way "Mountain Grill" did. Turning back to the 70s I also observe that line-up 'ranks' did not help since we hadn't Google or other gear to do a research then - why did we import with a bunch of aliens making a strange sound? It didn't happen because the album copy I listened to was certainly a piracy display or a copy specific to suit our national taste.

About the songs, 'Brainstorm' is a long and dull rock that could have been cut by half; 'Space is deep' is fair, probably the best track; 'Lord of light' is audible and amusing, the second best while 'Down through the night' is soft and neutral, making the middle section of the album, not counting the short 'One change', the peak of this work; 'Time we left this world today' adds few being also boring just like the opening track; 'The watcher' adds even fewer.

It is sad to say that CD bonus tracks (1996 release) are better than the original track list with 4 good songs although one is repeated, 'Lord of light', but with a different approach. 'Urban guerilla' and 'Ejection' are wild rocks well in the hard line very popular around 1972; 'Brainbox pollution' is interesting. Some shall disdain the mix of songs from different times, but without these bonus tracks the album is restricted to 6 songs and 2 or 3 of them could be better fitted with less time.

Not considering the bonus tracks it should be a 'collectors/fans only' work. With the bonus track, that's the present case, "Doremi Fasol Latido" is good, but non-essential. Total: 3 stars.

To boldly go...

Absolute killer of an album from Hawkwind - the recruitment of Simon King providing a compelling drive without losing the tribal force, and the addition of Ian Kilmister solidfying the Hawkwind sound forever.

Add to that a much improved production, a tighter focus on overall structure without losing any of the improvisation and a noticably expanded arsenal of tone generators, oscillators and general good vibes, and the recipe starts to cook... hash browns, anyone?

The Music

Brainstorm, and particularly this version, makes this album a compulsory purchase all by itself. Straight away, the lyrics grab you; "Standing on the runway, waiting to take off, you gotta help me, help me to shake off... this body and mind...".

Perhaps the execution isn't as precise as it might be, and perhaps the guitar could do with a little more attention in the tuning department, but none of that takes any energy out of the sonic hurricane that follows, blasting the possibilities of psychedelic rock into new dimensions.

The other things that grab you about Brainstorm are the driving runs and power chords emanating from Lemmy's bass, not to mention his distinctive tones appearing in the backing vocals, and just how incredibly well structured the whole edifice is, despite appearing to be an 11-minute jam session; Each section morphs naturally into the next, always threatening, but never quite managing to descend into chaos.

As with "In Search of Space", a coherence is provided across the album, almost second to none; Space is Deep works best of all for me in this acoustic version, the separation between the guitars adding to the cosmic depth of this track. The electronics, of course, are what really make this something special, but nevertheless, despite being "Hurry on Sundown III" in many ways, it contains that earthy "Om" vibe that would make it work perfectly without the effects. When the bass and drums finally make their entrance roughly halfway through, Turner's flute chirps like some kind of mad space-bird, the underlying pulse of the piece makes itself felt, and continues to beat even as the band break it right down.

The heavily effected electric piano of One Change works very well for this very short Satie-esque piece that serves as a little breather before "Lord of Light" positively overwhelms with its rafts of effects, powerful distorted riffs and driving bass lines. The fact that this begins feeling like a kind of "Brainstorm II" adds to the impact when the band modulate into new territory 2 minutes or so in. Lemmy conjours up some magically winding bass lines and whammo! we're back at the verse again.

Down Through the Night may feel like it's regurgitating earlier material somewhat - but that consideration would cause the listener to miss out on the trip - and coherence - of this album, so if you think it's repetitive, you're missing the point and probably hate all forms of Trance and Tangerine Dream too.

The change to Time We Left This World Today is a bit lumpy, but getting over the shock of that gives you no time to prepare for the assault that follows - so possibly it was deliberate. A massive riff descends into almost atonal, discordant tribal chaos with harsh rhythms, angular sax bleeps, wah-wah washes and insistent chanting.

It might be a fair speculation that Hawkwind held shares in an effects unit company - but hey, that's the Hawkwind sound!

We exit the album via The Watcher, an odd acoustic piece featuring the lead vocals of Lemmy for the first time. The major key feel of the guitars feels distinctly and naturally at odds with the minor key of the melody line, and the piece is all the more sinister and bleak for leaving out the drums. As for the electronics, they finally make their appearance towards the end - as announced by Lemmy, and providing a perfect coherence to a near- perfect Space Rock album.

The Watcher was later rejuvenated by Lemmy on the first Motorhead album, "On Parole", if you are left with any doubts that this is a good song.

Then there are The Bonuses.

"Urban Guerilla" is completely out of place stylistically and lyrically - although it's a great song, and the single version of "Lord of Light" is a really bad edit of the version on the album - so both are pointless. Different releases have different bonuses - but program your CD player to stop after "The Watcher", or buy the vinyl to get the authentic experience.

Collector's tip: The original vinyl came with a nifty "Star Rats" poster, and the sleeve was printed with a rather delicate silver ink that had a tendency to flake off with handling - but looked seriously cool.

Summary

Sure it sounds dated now - but who cares? So does Gregorian chant.

In short, one of the greatest Space Rock albums of all time - and most of the rest were also by Hawkwind. All 3 of the "Lemmy-era" studio albums - and the live "Space Ritual" album are fabulous examples of this genre and show a marked progression from here to the mighty "Warrior on the Edge of Time": All are classics (and masterpieces) in their own right - and there's simply no other band like Hawkwind.

One of HAWKWIND's 70s' best albums

4.5 stars

As for the first time Lemmy Kilmister enters the crew, Doremi Fasol Latido is the most agressive, rock-oriented of the band's albums. More stoner, less jazzy than their former acts, the space band puts adrealin in their music to launch their rocket to space!

The record opens with the thundering "Brainstorm" that announces clearly the color. Nearly 12 minutes of mindblowing heavy psychedelia, weird reverberation and sonic destruction anthem. The calm comes back with "Space Is Deep", another favorite from the band that projects you in the stratosfear. Lemmy's bass playing is excellent. "One Change" works good as a short transition ambient track to announce the space metal killer song "Lord Of Light". This tune is as essential as "Master Of The Universe" on "In Search Of Space". Now, time for acoustic songs, "Down Through The Night" and "The Watcher" very relaxing and inspired. The only flaw here is "Time We Left This World Today", a little repetitive and cacophonic by moments, which prevents the record from being a masterpiece.

The bonus tracks featured on the 1996 CD edition are very nice and rock! "Urban Guerilla" is powerful and "Brainbox Pollution" has surprising space-jazzy touch that fits perfectly to the song. "Ejection" has some echoes of "Satisfaction" by the STONES.

"Doremi Fasol Latido" is one of the most influential record ever in terms of stoner rock. Very loud, but very refreshing and powerful. A great moment of space metal!

Welcome aboard Lemmy.. the first studio album with Lemmy on bass. A true original in the crowded field of characters, and scoundrels that rock has no shortage of. This album from 1972 is not often regarded as the definitive album of Hawkwind but it isn't too bad an album. Forget Floyd.. this is the definitive Space Rock/Acid Rock/Qualude Rock/ pick your adjective band. Pick this up and check them out. Hawkwind may not be 'complex' or high browed enough for some.. but Hawkwind is prog enough by 10.

The album begins with the ..errr.. Sonic attack .. ahahaha.. of 'Brainstorm'. A monsterous heavy riff that bludgeons you for 5 or 6 minutes and then in true Hawkwind style takes flight into the atmosphere into a catatony of Dik Mik's electronics, Lemmy's bass, and Nik Turners Sax. Great stuff. After taking a proverbial splash in the ocean and returning to earth. The main riff is picked back up and the song draws to an end with some far out spacey ramblings. Classic Hawkwind. The next song 'Space is Deep' sort of threw me at first. Space Ritual was my entry point into Hawkwind and the live version of Space is Dark was one of my favorites on that. This one has prominent accousic guitar and Lemmy's bass is much more understated on this studio version. Not as brutal as the live version.. yet more sparce.. and maybe even more effective as a vehicle for space travel. Side one closes with 'One Chance' a short (less than a minute) electric piano piece.

Side 2 kicks of with another classic Hawkwind track, 'Lord of Light' Featuring Lemmy's melodic bass playing. A surging driving beat powers the song and brings the song to conclusion after a insturmenal section of rather average quality. The accoustic 'Down through the Night' is next up with swirling winds like synth tones. Pretty much a throw away track on it's own but it works better in conjunction with the next track 'Time We Left This World Today' which it sort of seques into. A nice heavy riff with a call and responce vocal section that takes into a rather odd section led which sounds really disjointed. Being Hawkwind though.. it's no big deal. Thankfully before too long Lemmy's massive bass and Nic's sax bring us back to the main riff. Where of all things.. we get a Lemmy bass solo bit. Chris Squire he is not.. but it is effective. The album closes with 'The Watcher, ' an accoustic piece with Lemmy singing.

Some strong songs.. and some not so strong ones. Pretty much an average prog album in my book

For myself and the site 3 stars. What is good is some killer stuff.

Michael (aka micky)

This acid dazed cosmic proto Motörhead album really kicks ass and melts your brain! These marvelous songs were first known to me from their classic "Space Ritual" live album, and I did not emphasize collecting the early studio albums of this group, as I had got an impression from their two first albums that their first studio recordings didn't capture the raw power and collective improvisational playing as well as their live gigs. But this record certainly proved I was wrong. Over ten minutes long opener "Brainstorm" builds up from very aggressive and primitive trance oriented heavy rock riffs colored up with thick wall of electronics, giving birth to really strong sensations. "Space is Deep" is then more thoughtful wondering of the characteristics of the cosmos, continuing the hypnotic style, drums waiting up till the middle of the song until starting to drive the rocket forward. "One Change" is a short intro for "Lord of Light", another anxious cosmic ace rocker with loud bass solo from Lemmy, who also smashes the acoustic guitars in this album. His raw style playing it make that instrument fit better on this manic record, and I found this interesting as this instrument usually associates for me to more tender and sophisticated approaches. "Down Through The Night" continues the minor key trip, being also a really good song. Nearly nine minutes long "Time We Left This World Today" is also minimalistic smasher with repetitive chants hammering the air, and there's lots of free playing here too. The final track "The Watcher" is Lemmy's vocal and guitar dystopia, closing the album in both pessimistic and haunting way. I had the original version of this for listening, so I can't say anything about the CD re-issue bonus tracks.

In my opinion this album is a big improvement to their two previous albums, which are also interesting and have good songs in them, not forgetting their pioneerish qualities. But here the recording captures their furious live sound in a new marvelous way, and this is a rare psychedelic prog album as you can listen it also with your punk rock sci-fi fans. If I would try to introduce prog music to a Motörhead fan, I would start with this excellent record.

I wondered what the title of this album mean't. Then I read Easy Livin's explanation that it's the "Vocal Music Scale". You know "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do". Should have known it would be something silly. This is the first record with bassist Lemmy on board and not coincidently this is their heaviest release as well. I have to agree with Sean Trane though, I like the previous one ("In Search Of Space") better. The picture of the band inside the liner notes is priceless.

"Brainstorm" is a Nik Turner song. The beat to this of bass and drums is infectious. We also get some spacey winds sweeping across the soundscape. 5 minutes in they just jam for about 5 minutes before the vocals come back to end it. "Space Is Deep" features strummed guitar,vocals and spacey synths. It starts to build to a nice full sound 3 1/2 minutes in before calming back down with that strummed acoustic guitar returning 5 minutes in.

"One Change" is a short piano led tune that echoes. "Lord Of Light" has a spacey intro before it breaks out into heavy riffs. The vocals on this one remind me of Ozzy and the bass is great ! "Down Through The Night" is another good track with strummed guitar and spacey winds. Flute before the vocals arrive 1 1/2 minutes in. "Time We Left This World" is my favourite. I really like the way they do the vocals with one person singing "Time we left" and another responding "This world today". The drumming on this song is well done too. "The Watcher" is the closing track with Lemmy singing on it. Acoustic guitar and bass help out in this laid back tune.

This is a classic Psychedelic album from our friends from outer space known as HAWKWIND.

The opening track from this album has definitely a special flavour to my (old) ears. Fully psychedelic (although the movement is quite a few years old by the time of this recording). Sounds as "Eloy" who were playing this type of music years after the birth of the great psychedelia.

But since I have always be keen on this type of music, I can only be enthusiast. Spacey but great beat. How is this possible? Just listen to "Hawkwind" to figure out.

"Brainstorm" is a great anthem. Turn down the light, increase the volume as much as you can (just to test your family acceptation to such sounds) and appreciate this great moment of music. Yes, it might sound outdated, but what a great moment for oldies like me. The absolute highlight here.

Not all songs are of this calibre of course. The semi-psyche acoustic "Space Is Deep" can hardly hold the comparison and in the long run sounds too much of the same to be fully interesting.

But the Flodyan "Lord Of Light" is absolutely fantastic. The splendid instrumental intro is gorgeous, another highlight. But to be honest, once the vocal part enters the scene, it catches down the interest. But still, the heavy beat is grandiose, hypnotic. great. This track is bringing us to a great musical trip : au propre comme au figuré (in the literal as well as the metaphorical sense).

Almost the same applies to "Down through the night" : a great instrumental intro (acoustic), and average vocal part. The middle section especially is going nowhere for about a minute, just before recovering. It was about time! Still, a powerful track, but this album is very good so far.

"Time We Left .." is perfectly in the mood as of this album. Heavy, disturbing vocal, and repetitive. Fortunately, the great middle instrumental part is again saving the whole. But the closing track ("The Watcher") from the original album is rather flat and weak. What a poor way of closing a good album!

Fortunately, the remastered edition adds several bonus tracks which are of very good value. "Urban Gorilla" being my fave of them thanks to its wild beat and fully psyche mood (like some other songs here). "Brainbox Pollution" is another great (but more jazzy) tune. But better than some songs from the original album. The same comment is due to be applied to "Ejection".

This work is not inventive as such. By that time, the psychedelic movement was not really the thing, to be honest. But if you like these sounds (as I do), this album is highly recommended. "Eloy" & "Nektar" fans should watch this one out. It is just out the four star limit IMO. Seven out of ten, probably. Under these circumstances, three stars are legitimate, although it is better than their first two albums which I rated with three stars as well.

This album sounds slightly more professional than the first two. Not that the musicianship suddenly started to exist in this band, far from it! This album is just better recorded than the first two. Brainstorm is still very much in the same territory as the last album, that is monotonous and repetitive and way too long for its own good! Space is Deep is better though, but not good enough to desreve being over six minutes long.

I read someone comparing this album to Black Sabbath but in my opinion Black Sabbath would never have recorded a song with the same beat all the way through; Hawkwind did whole albums without changing the beat! Black Sabbath became famous, not only for their heavy sound, but for their constant tempo changes and having several different riffs in the same song etc. Hawkwind had fewer good riffs in their whole carrier than Sabbath had on one song.

The improved sound on this album made this the best Hawkwind album up to that point but Space is Deep and The Watcher still cannot save this album from the lowest possible rating.

Doremi Fasol Latido is the third album from psychadelic space rockers Hawkwind. Released in 1972 Doremi Fasol Latido featured a new rythm section in Simom King on drums and Lemmy Kilmister ( later of Motörhead fame) on bass. Compared to the previous album In Search of Space this meant that Hawkwind would have a considerably more heavy sound.

The music can be described as pretty guitar, bass and drum heavy while lots of spacy effects are created by keyboards, electronics, flute and sax. Sometimes the songs almost drown in spacy effects, but it´s the Hawkwind trademark and I guess it´s an aquired taste if you like this or not. There are some really great songs here like the opener Brainstorm which is an 11:33 minute long song with lots of psychadelic jamming which is something that can also be said about Time We Left This World Today ( listen to the bass from Lemmy on this track, just great IMO). Songs like Space is Deep, Down Through this Night and the Watcher are more acoustic based but of course also feature strange effects.

The four bonus tracks on my edition, which is the 1996 CD release, are very good and definitely adds to album. I´ll especially mention Brainbox Pollution where you can clearly hear Lemmy´s hoarse background vocals.

The musicianship is good and tight which is a real pleasure for me. David Brock is of course in top form here and it´s a real treat to listen to his vocal delivery at times. He isn´t the worlds best singer technically but he has personality and that´s more important IMO. He has lots of attitude and sometimes I wonder if some of the punk groups from the end of the seventies listened here for inspiration ?

The production is a bit more muddy than it was on the two first albums which kind of put me off on initial listen but after a couple of listens I´ve come to the conclusion that I really like this more dirty sound better.

The cover is nice, allthough nothing special.

The album is varied and has both long jams, rock songs and more subtle songs which means that this is a great album. The inclusion of Lemmy on bass makes a lot of difference for me as his distorted bass attack really enhances many of the songs and makes the music more heavy. This is a 4 star album for me and a really great addition to my collection. Hawkwind isn´t a band I have listened to before I began reviewing here on Prog Archives and I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised by their first three albums and I am looking forward to reviewing more of their albums in the future.

Lemmy the Lurch jumped on board the Hawkwind Spaceship and he injected the right amount of bass rythym to this unit. The album as a result works well as a proto Motorhead journey into space. The Hawkwind trademark of weird spacey effects from keyboards saturate each track and its a voyage from beginning to end into another universe. We begin the voyage with the gatecrashing rocker 'Brainstorm'. It is featured on many compilations and in various lengths as well as on the live "Space Ritual" masterpiece. A track to savour, its a highlight of the Hawkwind repertoire.

'Space is deep' is another space effect laden track with some mesmirising guitars and vocals.

'Lord of light' is one of my favourites and it merges seamlessly into the quieter 'Down through the night' where Brock excels on vocals.

'Time We Left This World Today' has terrific bass from Lemmy showing his dexterity as a player like you have never heard.

The bonus tracks are excellent featuring the obligatory classic 'Silver machine' again. Its so great though one can't complain about its insertion. I never tire of it, even on the 100th listen. Brilliant!

'Urban Guerilla', 'Brainbox Pollution' and 'Ejection' are fabulous hard driving tracks with tons of echoing vocals, effects, and crunching fuzz guitar.

Overall this is one of the best albums from Hawkwind. Of course the best was yet to come with the live extravaganza, "Space Ritual".

I don't want to bash a historically important and well-loved group... but for a contemporary listener who didn't have these guys around during their youth, listening to Doremi Fasol Latido is like sitting drugged in the dentist chair. This was a painful one to even finish.

The album starts with the psychedelic Brainstorm, an 11 minute excuse to play pointless loud spacey effects behind bland drumming and terrible vocals. I can't find any hint of musicianship and only the scantest bit of foresight into the song's structure. Scanning through this song will reveal the exact same thing from start to finish, and says to me that one needs plenty of drugs and flashing lights to enjoy.

Things get incomparably better with successive tracks, with the group actually condescending to play their instruments in a thoughtful and, honestly intricate manner. One Change is a present transition into the good Lord of Light, which has powerful energy and direction. Things go downhill after here into bland, repetitive, very dated sounding drugged-up psychedelia. Expect the same drum beat, bass groove, genuinely bad vocals throughout-- but at least there's some guitar variety. Not especially progressive, nor entertaining.

For fans of the proto sound only, and even then only for those who are fine with a monotonous classic- rock in the background.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 1 Lyrics/Vocals: 1 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

Despite hunting down any 70's prog-related album that I could take hold off in the 80's, it wasn't till 1993 that I got to know the phenomena called Hawkwind, through an excellent cover of Brainstorm by Monster Magnet. I was sold on the spot and with the patience of a saint I tracked down their albums in the ensuing years.

By the time I found Doremi Fasol Latido, I had come to know all featured songs through their superior live versions on Space Ritual, so it is hard to measure this album's importance and relevance, especially with the terrible production here. It is very badly balanced, it is hard to make out what anybody is playing and for a kind of music that is so much relying on it's hypnotizing effect, the muffled drum and bass sound is largely unsatisfying.

On the other hand, it boasts the original versions of some of Hawkwind's best tunes, be it that only the studio versions of Space Is Deep and Down Through the Night differ enough from their live renditions to justify a purchase. Lemmy's The Watcher is pretty lame, especially compared to its later Motorhead version.

To make my quibbles with the album complete, the re-issue added a number of fun tracks that could have boosted my rating to 4, but for the original CD edition I can't go higher then 3 stars. By compensation I'll be a bit generous with Space Ritual

The title of this third Hawkwind album appears at first glance to be some mysterious and powerful incantation, but then one realizes it is merely the names of the notes of the major scale. That sums up the nature of this music. The titles of the tracks and the extraterrestrial noises may give the impression of something arcane and profound, but casting the veneer aside, this is a collection of wonky and lumbering rock tunes with repetitive beats and horrible vocals. The only "space rock" aspect of the album are the galactic noises that weave in and out of the music- otherwise, this is very similar to proto-prog and prog-related rock bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s- just not very good.

"Brainstorm" This lengthy opener is a rambunctious song with exaggerated and poorly-recorded vocals. The riffing is repetitive and does not justify the length of the piece at all. The tremolo effects on the guitar goings-on at the end of the track are cool, but not really a part of the composition.

"Space is Deep" Eerie acoustic guitar and queer space noises introduce a pleasantly straightforward chord progression and a gritty lead vocal. The tacky "third-kind" noises continue on throughout the entire track. The music later adopts a two chord rhythmic jam, but the acoustic meandering at the end is the best part.

"One Change" Trembling low tones, accompanied by lighter notes, make up this fifty-second instrumental.

"Lord of Light" After the obligatory galactic sound effects, a grainy rock song ensues. It has a throaty bass, a crispy rhythm electric guitar, energetic drumming, and second-rate vocals. The dizzying bass solo is the highlight.

"Down Through the Night" Airy synthetic sounds dominate the background, as light acoustic guitar and distant flute. This frothy tune has strange vocals and vocalizations that make me think of a marijuana-smoking deadbeat with a dream of becoming a rock star.

"Time We Left This World Today" Over an indolent groove, there's a slothful bunch of call and response vocals and experimental guitar. The piece drones on with a loose bunch of noises, buzzing and squealing like giant insects attacking a nunnery.

"The Watcher" The final track is a lazy acoustic blues number- very boring and uninspired. "This is the end now," the song helpfully informs.

Doremi Fasol Latido (1972) is a slight improvement on the previous Hawkwind album (In Search Of Space). It doesn't represent a major evolution of the band's sound and there's no intricate musicianship on offer, but there is a unique tension between Hawkwind's space- themed visionary tableau and their minimalist, earthbound soundworld. On these early albums Brock et al seem to turn simplicity of melodic expression into an art form but, invigorated by a new taut rhythm section, the lengthy chant-laden jams are performed with a bit more urgency on this album. Brainstorm is a good example with Lemmy and Simon King providing a forceful, if basic, rhythm that underpins the electronics potpourri. Even the ubiquitous folk-ballad Space Is Deep benefits from the addition of a melodic bass line and resolute drums that infuse the song with some much-needed energy.

As I said above, don't expect any virtuoso performances but the band's playing has developed on Doremi. Dave Brock's heavily treated guitarwork at the beginning of Lord Of Light sounds like the snarling of Morbius's monster from the id. The guitar otherwise provides an effects- laden bedrock for Lemmy's bass, which infuses the song with much of its melodic interest. The hypnotic Time We Left This World Today wanders a bit in the middle, but is nonetheless a highlight with squawking sax and wah wah guitar. Del Dettmar's One Change is an interesting little interlude that might have been developed beyond its 50 seconds. There are a couple of less than memorable acoustic pieces (Lemmy's bluesy The Watcher, and Down Through The Night) to round things off. Overall though, Doremi is not a chore to listen to and I'm always happy to press the repeat button. 3 stars for this one.

Welcome to the pressure chamber.

Hawkwind's third album is heavy, raucous and annoyingly repetitive, yet that annoying repetitiveness is what makes Hawkwind good. The vocals here are pretty lame and terrible sounding (except ''Lord of Light'' which has good vocals), yet give the album a certain charm. I enjoy listening to this album as much as I enjoy watching old Jonny Quest episodes; I know many aspects of both are going to be terrible, overdone and campy, yet I enjoy both for those reasons.

''Brainstorm'' represents this effort in every sense. The main riff is loud, yet so much fun, and is complemented by swarms of space noises and bad vocals. If you like that riff, get used to it because this is an eleven minute non-stop riff-fest. There's a sound variety here with softer tracks like ''The Watcher'', ''Space Is Deep'' and ''Down Through the Night''. ''One Change'' is a great piano-led transition that serves as a highlight. ''Time We Left This World Today'' has some awful vocals, but the bass performance (from Lemmy) saves the song as it does ''Lord of Light''.

This is music not to be taken seriously. If you can laugh along with the songs, then the enjoyment of DOREMI FASOL LATIDO is enhanced. Sure it's noisy, corny and not well-played compared to other class prog acts, but there is enough here that you'll put on repeat, even if nothing sounds repeatable at first.

Hawkwind's third album sees the group struggling against difficult circumstances and turning these problems into opportunities. For starters, it's the first album with Lemmy on bass - an instrument he wasn't used to, having learned to play lead guitar, with the result that his playing is somewhat unorthodox on here - and it was recorded in Rockfield Studios at a point when the studios were just a barn with mattresses on the walls.

As a result, the mix of the album is murky, but in a stroke of genius which laid the groundwork for the sound of Hawkwind's classic period, the band decided to make that very murk a defining feature of their sound. On the best songs, such as the opening Brainstorm, the thunderous basslines, mysterious synthesiser tweets, and portentious vocals emerge from out of the fog and merge to create a strange, hypnotic melange. Whilst material like the closing The Watcher is a bit weak, the bulk of the album follows the lead of Brainstorm and the end result is a fascinating slice of space rock, with the lo-fi production values and Lemmy's bass technique giving it an almost proto-punk edge that sets this incarnation of Hawkwind apart from gentler, smoother, less abrasive space rock groups.

Still, I have to admit that Space Ritual just plain sounds better, and I tend to prefer the versions of this album's songs to be found on there. So four stars.

The early era of British cosmic rockers Hawkwind, including this third album from them `Doremi Fasol Latido' from 1972 is full of plodding, monotonous, repetitive, crushing and insane punky spacerock, but don't think for a second any of that is meant as a criticism! Those are all classic Hawkwind trademarks fans love, and they set the standard for so many bands to come.

Nik Turner's vocals are a little cartoonish and hideously dated on opener `Brainstorm', but the lengthy instrumental passages full of pummelling bass and distorted chugging guitars, mindless filtered saxophone and warped electronic effects are really exhilarating and frequently overwhelming. Much of this track really sets in stone a sound that most people identify this band with. Although `Space Is Deep' is driven by a very folky and acoustic guitar backing, it's swamped in swirling electronic effects and before long it's deeply lost in space. The first section has very acid-drenched imagery in the lyrics, while the second half when the bass and drums kicks in has a confident stomp to it. Side one closer `One Change' is then (surprisingly for Hawkwind!) a very low-key, subtle beautiful piano and bass piece - shame it only lasts for less than a minute!

Monstrous punishing bass, rattling drums and an unhinged vocal from Dave Brock barking out rambling lines means `Lord Of Lights' destroys all in its path. Bassist Lemmy powers through this track, very loose and groove-filled, helping make it another long and trippy track, full of typical Hawkwind characteristics. Some folky flavours on the intro to a track like `Down Through The Night' still sounds very alien and other-wordly, the phasing effects behind the guitar constantly enhances this feeling, and a strong vocal from Brock again lifts it even higher, with his voice especially confident on the acoustic tracks on this album like here.

More dirty stomping bass fades in for `Time We Left...', with waffling treated sax flying in and around Brock's inane lyrics. The guitar playing about 1:40 seems really off and unpleasant before deteriorating into a seriously loopy and maddening chanted mess that reminds a little of Gong! Unpleasantly groovy, Lemmy's bass the final few minutes is seriously bent! `The Watcher' is then an unsettling acoustic come-down, severely wasted and featuring a suitably stoned lead vocal from Lemmy. No drums or percussion at all, and only a few spacey effects near the very end, it somehow reminds of early Black Sabbath and Ozzy! `This is the end now...' is suitably apocalyptic to wrap the album up on...and if he hadn't ending up playing on their next album, you might have been convinced that Lemmy really did keel over after that long drawn out final note on the lyric!

`Doremi' is a knockout spacerock album, powerful and noisy, with a great variety between longer menacing spacey rockers and psychedelic folky ballads. Improved and tighter production still highlights their improvisational trademarks while keeping things relatively lo-fi, and the acoustic guitar playing is played with real belief and purpose. The band also make even the most incoherent lyrics sound grand and filled with purpose, and the blur of electronics, warped sax playing, crumbling bass and fuzzed out guitars make for a truly disorientating and fascinating experience.

Four stars - Into the blackness we drown!

Their previous album saw Hawkwind "In Search of Space"; here the band achieved escape velocity and finally left the Earth behind. Ian Kilmister (aka Lemmy) was aboard; so was new drummer Simon King, completing what some fans would consider the classic Hawkwind team, in a collection of "ritualistic space chants, battle hymns, and stellar songs of praise" (quoting the narrative credits on the LP's ultra-cosmic back cover).

The newly christened 'musicnauts' were also coming under the influence of cult novelist (and longtime comrade) Michael Moorcock, adding elements of heroic fantasy to their sci-fi thematic arsenal, just in time to ride a nerdy upsurge of interest in sword-and-sorcery gaming around the same time. From the quintessential momentum of the album opener "Brainstorm" through the compelling void of "Space Is Deep", to the world-weary stoner pessimism of "The Watcher" (a Lemmy original, arranged with surprising acoustic understatement), this was where Hawkwind really took wing.

Too bad the sound is so bloodless: a common complaint for a lot of rock music in the early 1970s, but doubly unfortunate for such a muscular outfit (Simon King would later say the album "lacked production", and according to Lemmy "it was just not very well recorded"). "Space Is Deep" survives as the band's first true masterpiece, summing up the entire Hawkwind experience is six awesome, interstellar minutes. But the labored improvisational padding in "Time We Left This World Today" needed a live audience (or a lot of pharmaceuticals) to work properly.

The same music just doesn't soar as high as it would on the upcoming Space Ritual tour. But, hindsight aside, this was still the first fully-fledged Hawkwind studio album: a sonic manifesto carved in rough Ladbroke Grove metal.

(...consumer alert: later CD bonus tracks increase the album's value by adding the notorious "Urban Guerrilla" single and it's hard-rockin' B-Side "Brainbox Pollution", plus other rarities from the early Hawkwind closet.)

As one of the very first space rock bands to emerge in the late 60s, HAWKWIND had been experiencing a slow but steady rise in popularity with the band's 1971's "In Search of Space" hitting #18 on the UK album charts and introducing the galactic cosmic rocker's sound to an ever expanding audience but the band founded by guitarist / vocalist Dave Brock didn't really find its true happy space until the exit of the rhythm section duality of bassist Dave Anderson and drummer Terry Ollis who were replaced by future Motorhead madman Ian Kilmister aka Lemmy and percussionist Simon King formerly of Opal Butterfly. While Lemmy believed he was signing on as the new guitarist, he learned at the last minute that it was the role of bassist that was open and like a pro he learned how to play bass on the fly but without giving up any of his guitar god bravado.

DOREMI FASOL LATIDO, a cute little title derived from the musical scale song displayed the strongest era of HAWKWIND's 70s run with a noticeably heavier sound than the previous albums no doubt due to Lemmy's ferocious string attack as well as King's rock sensibilities. The album focuses more on heavy chugging riffs leaving Del Dittmer's whirling sputtering synthesizer tricks to take a back seat but they are hardly relegated to second tier status and instead create the needed contrast to expand HAWKWIND's sound into an even larger inter-dimensional grasp taking them one notch closer to true lords of the space rock throne. While the entire band complained that the production was crap since it was recorded in a barn, the truth is that the less than perfect final product adds a distinct charm that allows the treble parts to soar high and the bass chugs to ferociously mimic the guitar parts that Lemmy erroneously assumed he would be handling. The remastered versions have performed miracles.

The change of characters was a great move as DOREMI FASOL LATIDO hits all the right notes in perfect proportions. While the opening "Brainstorm" displays a new harder rocking version of the space rock launched like a missile with the self-titled debut album, it immediately casts a hypnotic spell with Lemmy's bombastic bass groove augmented by Brock's sizzling guitar antics. After establishing firm control the track sputters off into true space rock turf. This was saxist / flautist Nik Turner's first stab at songwriting and cranks out an excellent space rock groove that allows his breath blowing skills to display mind-blowing freakery during the track's major freakout toward the middle. The following track allows a time-out from the frenetic pace set by the opener. "Space Is Deep" which mined lyrics from Michael Moorcok's poem "Black Corrider" finds a dual acoustic guitar performance by Brock and Lemmy with extensive layers of electronic wizardry and introduces the hard song / soft song pattern of the album's forty minute run.

After the tiny piano intro of "One Change," the "Lord of Light" breaks into a sputtering mess of sounds which chaotically coalesce until one of the most melodic and energetic tracks burst into heavy metal mode with some of Lemmy's most badass bass playing along with Brock's power chords bantering with the usual space swirls of electronic whizzing around like solar storms colliding with planetary magnetic shields. "Down Through The Night" provides another softer respite from the orotundity but doesn't simply copy and past "Space Is Deep" but rather creates a frenetic angular mix of an acoustic guitar strumathon with space whispering flute sounds echoing from the heaven's above. The heavily fortified electronic winds emulate a hurricane with some of the most echoey vocals on the entire album. Once again these tracks find the perfect way to cede into a new reality without losing the overall mood setting of what preceded.

"Time We Left This World Today" is yet another completely different methodology with heavy bluesy guitar riffs and call and response vocals from the various members. While the electronic sound effects are present they are subdued in the backdrop. The guitars sound slightly out of tune adding a touch of avant-garde dissonance which allows the track to develop into more bizarre progressive movements that despite a steady power stomp through the track finds the instrumental interplay becoming more experimental and free form. The syncopated beats and the vocals fall into a psychedelic haze of a repetitive groove with subtle changes that evolve into new variations. The final track "The Watcher" has been called the very first Motorhead song and was Lemmy's first contribution as songwriter to the HAWKWIND project. Despite performed only on an acoustic guitar with a fuzzed out bass, this psychedelic track that narrates the destruction of the Earth from human greed from the vantage point of space, has Lemmy's style stamped all over it and would actually reappear on the first Motorhead album many years later.

HAWKWIND were on the top of their game after DOREMI FASOL LATIDO hit the scene. With the non-album single "Silver Machine" hitting the top 40 and the tour proving successful, the popularity of the material on this album would be the main musical ingredients for the band's lauded 1973 live album "Space Ritual" which featured every track from DOREMI with the sole exception of the Lemmy penned closer "The Watcher." It's hard to say which album i prefer from HAWKWIND's earliest gems but this one has long been a top contender with its stellar songwriting that took on the task of melding hard rock with psychedelia along with soft acoustic guitar driven anthems that made Bowie's "Space Oddity" sound like Simon & Garfunkel in comparison. Lemmy's bombastic rock energy was exactly what HAWKWIND was missing in their earliest years and would drive them through the best period of their career until a restless Lemmy found that the heavier metal music was his true calling.

4.5 rounded down

It's 1972, and Hawkwind has only a mere 3 albums. I wonder if they knew how long their legacy would go on. Most of their albums charted in the UK, while only two did in the US. Their UK success is what kept them going, for better or worse. But, lets not get ahead of ourselves. The time we're interested in, in our fancy little aluminum foil space-time capsule is 1972, and the band at the time were mere fledglings, well, pretty much.

Their third album, "Doremi Fasol Latido" would basically be the one to really kick off their string of great albums. Even though their previous album saw them hit number 18 on the UK charts, this album would raise that number a few notches, and a lot of the reason for the increasing popularity was bringing in two new members of the band; Lemmy on bass (who of course would go on to become the lead singer for Motorhead), and Simon King on drums. Most people know that Lemmy's time with the band was short (only until 1975), but King would end up being a regular member for quite a while (until 1980), however, this line-up would be mostly responsible for the band's best albums. Another newbie to the band was Robert Calvert, who contributed with occasional vocals and such through the history of the band. He would not be on every album, but was sort of a guest star who would appear from time to time hereafter. Beyond this, we have as returning members, Dave Brock, the one main staple of the band through the years, on guitars and most lead vocals; Nik Turner (who stayed until 1984 with a temporary break between '76 and '82) on sax flute and vocals; Dik Mik (or Michael Davies who stayed until 1973) on synth and Del Dettmar (who left the band in 1974) on synth. The band was only in for 3 albums thus far, and already they were in a state of constant flux. But for the time being, they were relatively stable.

Lemmy thought he was to replace the previous 2nd guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton when he came into the band, but Brock decided he would be the only guitarist, so Lenny took the bassist position when the old bass player failed to show up. Lemmy got thrown into the band hardly even knowing what a bass guitar was, and said he just treated it like a "deep guitar". King, on the other hand, had a different drumming style than the previous drummer, as King had a more rock style where Ollis, the previous drummer, was more of a jazz style.

The album was recorded in a barn and the band used mattresses on the walls to make it all more "studio-like". Tapes from long jam sessions were made and then were cut up and spliced together to make a track out of it while other overdubs were made to put it all together or joined together by synthesizer riffs. The original version of the album had 7 tracks, 3 on side one and 4 on side two. When the remastered CD came out, 4 bonus tracks were added to this.

The album starts out with the epic space rock classic "Brainstorm" written by Nik Turner. Nik was known as the member that provided the best jam tunes and sessions. The track was originally made for a live appearance on the Johnnie Walker show and has since been changed often for live shows and re-recorded in various forms, but has remained a staple for concerts at almost every show. Starting with the usual echoing vocals, this original studio version is a bit rough, but that is the sound that the band would become famous for, the long, one-chord space jams with a guitar riff supporting improvised guitar and synth riffs. The track ends up taking up more than half of the first side of the album. If you want to hear the beginnings of space rock from the band that made it popular, this is the track to hear. "Space is Deep" is written by Brock with lyrics based on a poem called "Black Corridor", which is written by the band's go-to author Michael Moorcock. For the vocal sections of the track, both Brock and Lemmy provide acoustic guitars and vocals while spacey effects swirl around. As the song goes into the long instrumental section, the entire band comes in for another electronic space jam. In the track, the electric guitars slowly take over the acoustics, and we enter into a two-chord rock-out psychedelic jam, this time much shorter than the previous track, and then the acoustics fade back in retaining some odd guitar effects before tying the track together. This side ends with a short instrumental keyboard track by Del Dettmar.

For the 2nd side of the album, the next 3 tracks are all written by Brock. It starts with the eerie sounds of the 7 minute "Lord of Light" which soon finds its footing with a heavy guitar and bass riff that eventually bring in the vocals, complete with the usual echo effects. This track would become a single which was released in Germany. In the single edit, the time is cut almost in half, retaining mostly the vocal sections, which were more radio friendly than the long jam which includes the heavy guitars and some nice flute riffage by Turner. As is the case with most of Hawkwind's tracks, none of the instruments stick out as the soloing instruments are usually mixed evenly with the background creating that space rock wall of sound. At the time, this style was rather unheard of in the US and went against everything that was popular there. Now, however, it is the style that the many space rock bands rely on.

"Down Through the Night" continues the previous track, but breaks down the sound wall a bit with another acoustic performance surrounded by spacey effects and flute swashes. Regular vocals with reversed vocal effects layered in come in later. Another space jam follows with the almost 9 minute "Time We Left This World Today". A heavy guitar riff is established and repeated while almost chanted vocals repeat over and over with a sort of call and answer between Brock and the band. This track pushes forward in a relentless heavy walking tempo, and various sax and flute sounds are thrown in. The whole thing comes together in a funky, guitar scratching miasma of sound that is more psychedelic and experimental while the vocalists continue to shout out indiscernible words. The shouts finally quit and the band continues with its jam. This is the heaviest track on the album and at times it becomes quite intense with the guitars and the bass fighting for top spot here. The last track on the original album is "The Watcher", the first track written by Lemmy for Hawkwind. This one is quite psychedelic sounding, though it is much quieter as it consists of Lemmy singing and playing acoustic. He would later re- record the track with Motorhead.

The CD reissue then adds 4 bonus tracks to the album starting with the UK single "Urban Guerrilla", which was written and sung by Calvert. Since the lyrics at the time were quite controversial, the single was pulled after 3 weeks. The song ended up creating an urban legend that Nik Turner's flat was raided searching for bombs, but the raid ended up having to do with some motorcycle club members wanted for murder. The song is a great rocker and definitely add to the album. So does the B-side to this non-album single, "Brainbox Pollution" and both of these tracks fit on the album nicely. This B-side has a longer instrumental section and features layers of sax along with the guitars. The "Lord of Light" single mix is next and this version trims off about half of the original version. Last, but not least is a previously unreleased version of "Ejection".

This is one case when the added tracks on the reissue makes a great Hawkwind album even better, where the added material is all as good or better than the material on the original album. Overall, however, this is Hawkwind at its best as the band works together and will continue to do so for several years after. This album marks the beginning of their best output, the years when they were at their best and when their music would have the most influence. This is a definite must have for space rock lovers and for Hawkwind lovers, plus it is a valuable album as far as being an influential record even today.

Dear oldie goodie space rock. Needless to say, HAWKWIND's third album "Doremi Fasol Latido", following their 'creation of fame' "In Search Of Space", pushed themselves to the top runner of Psychedelic Progressive / Space Rock scene. Currently we can hear plenty of Space Rock opuses here and there, that have already been called 'old- fashioned', but mysteriously their spacey atmospheric configuration through this album has still been fresh and fruity. Although their recording, mixing, or producing, sounds like a tad ancient-looking cheesy, cheap movie set, their strong intention for spicy spacey structure can be digested directly and smoothly. We could hear their positivity and creativity via this giant full of rigidity (authentic space rock construction or hard rock appearance) and moderateness (slightly catchy texture). Unshakable HAWKWIND world we can gain experience.

The departure "Brainstorm" involves almost all of their innovative, impressive originality. It's the longest track in this creation but we cannot feel so long nor redundant deeply in it. As if we attended their live on stage as the audience, our inner mind should be merged and unified into their improvised and calculated playing completely. Such old material recorded 50 years ago (!) should not make us feel old-fashioned ... what a mystery. "Lord Of Light", later added as a radio-edited bonus track into the remastered version released in 1996, is one of their catchy, the most acceptable songs. Whilst holding their enthusiasm for space rock stances, they would keep good feeling in the melody lines and rhythmic bases. On the contrary, we can enjoy another alteration of sounds in "Time We Left This World Today" created with repetitive sticky phrases and gradual shifts of their playing style. In the middle part we can get immersed in crazy improvisational battles of  the lead guitar, the bass guitar, the drums, and the synthesizers. "The Watcher" is acoustic, and slightly depressive, but mystically comfortable one. Dave's voices are not so good (because the atmosphere around this track is quiet and simple methinks) but who cares?

"Doremi Fasol Latido" can be thought of as one of progressive rock textbooks that are passed down from generation to generation.