PXR 5

The late '70s were a lean time for Hawkwind, never having really recovered from the loss of Lemmy Kilminster (a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face), or the departure of Nik Turner - and despite their growing army of fans from the punk scene, they found their stock generally falling; which is a surprise, given the quality of this album.

The songs, on the whole are generally more mainstream rock than fans had been used to up to this point, but lyrically, Bob Calvert had trimmed the fat, and come up with stunning poetry, sewn through with satire regarding everything from the space race (Uncle Sam's on Mars) to urban decline and alienation (High Rise) - the sci-fi was still there, of course, with 'Robot' parodying Asimov's 3 laws of robotics, but overall, this was a tighter, rockier Hawkwind, and the final album to feature Bob Calvert in the driving seat.

Following this album, Hawkwind became a much heavier proposition, with Brock taking the reins, and pulling the band into heavy rock territory, where they stayed until the arrival, 4 years later, of Alan Davey on bass guitar for 'Chronicle Of The Black Sword' - but that, as they say, is a different story......