LIVE IN NOTTINGHAM (2002)

Finally! A Hawkwind album with Roger Dean artwork. The space cruiser on the cover says it all about this live Hawkwind recording from 1981 which was part of a concert recorded for TV. The 50 minutes available Dave Brock and his crew were used wisely with a great selection of tracks mostly from the late 80`s and early 90`s.

The countdown begins with a Hawkwind oldie but a goldie ,Lives of Great Men which runs into the Golden Void and also features ex-Hippy Slags Bridgett Wishart on vocals and theatrics on this excellent updated version. She only sings on two other tracks, Back In The Box and ejection which is unfortunate because her presence and Debbie Harry- like vocals really added to the Hawkwind live spectacle.Simon House`s wah-wahed out screeching violin playing is really evident here melting in nicely with the ubiquitous swirling and swishing Hawkwind synthesizer spacescapes and Brock gives us some of his spaciest live guitar work. Consequently the album has a lot of heaviness while remaining in spaced-out mode and reminds me very much of the Space Ritual album from `73.

Strap yourself into the ejection seat for one of Hawkwind`s best live albums. A veritable space trip for officiados and the uninitiated alike. 4 golden stars