AT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

This posthumous live album was a labour of love for Calvert's friends and relations. The concert was quite an event for Calvert, and he was apparently quite proud of the achievement of playing there. It is an excellent document of his wit as a performer and songwriter. He is backed up by member of the Inner City Unit on this record, and the punkish guitar sounds do complement the new wavy material from later records like the Cars-ish "Hype" and his anti-Thatcher political record "Freq". Not all of the material is strong, but Calvert's energy and the evident enthusiam of his performance, in addition to his humorous asides and exchanges with the audience make this a touching listen in light of the fact that he died not long after. The only drawback is the lack of a human drummer- the programmed drum machine beats are frankly awful, and I don't see why a real drummer couldn't be found. I can't bring myself to give this two stars, but nonetheless, I doubt any but Calvert/Hawkwind fans familiar with his personality and body of work will get much out of it.