Archive Review: The Greasy Truckers Party (1972/2007)

The “Greasy Truckers Party” was a benefit show for Greasy Truckers, an English flower-power group raising money for a number of social causes. Held at The Roundhouse in London on February 13, 1972, the show bill featured the improbable trio of Hawkwind, Brinsley Schwarz and Man. Originally released as a two-album set back in the day, the original eight-track tapes were recently unearthed, cleaned up, and reissued as a proper thee-disc set featuring complete performances from each of the three headlining bands. In a couple of cases (Man, Brinsley Schwarz), the chance to hear the complete set is quite breathtaking – on the original LP, for instance, only two of Man’s five distinctive performances were offered, tho’ that did include the incredible “Spunk Rock.”

Man’s Spunk Rock

Prog-rockers Man opened the show strong with a set that included their impressive twenty-two-minute jam “Spunk Rock.” The song features some incredible interstellar fretwork from Mickey Jones and Deke Leonard, the two guitarists seemingly engaged in some earth-shaking duel as their jagged riffs and razor-sharp leads intertwine like concertina wire. Drummer Terry Williams acts as both a referee and a cheerleader here, his steady, explosive drumbeats providing a constant barrage of rhythm and noise for the two six-string gladiators to build upon. The song’s ever-shifting time signatures, emotions and directions is enough to put many of today’s limp-wristed so-called  “virtuoso” jam bands to shame.

It would be tempting to say that the remainder of Man’s set was a letdown after the high-flying antics of “Spunk Rock,” but ‘tain’t so…the band clearly set the bar high and then attempts to demolish it with an impressive set of material, the band clearly influenced by the sounds emanating from San Francisco over the previous five years. Shimmering guitars and subdued rhythms lead into the scary, riff-driven, semi-psychedelic “Many Are Called But Few Get Up,” which sounds eerily like Volunteers-era Jefferson Starship at their dark, menacing, flower-power-is-kaput best. Once again, Williams’ machine-gun drumbeats provide the foundation for some really spacey and entertaining guitarwork.

“Angel Easy,” the other carryover from the original Truckers LP, is a shorter, more traditionally-structured rocker with distant vocals and a slightly funky rhythmic undercurrent. Whether it’s Leonard or Jones kicking in the notes here, the guitars set the pace for the song to rumble along like QMS on any given night at the Fillmore. The fourteen-minute “Bananas” sounds every bit like the band had been torching some peels on its way to the show, a mild hallucinogenic cloud settling over a rollicking pub-rock rhythm. The song extends for a whopping 14-plus, which lends itself to all sorts of cosmic abuse, lane changes, and slippery mountain curves. The set-closing “Romain” is pure electric booger-rawk, with long sweeping rhythms, bent-wire guitar tones and some of the most brilliantly bombastic drumming that you’ll ever hear.

Hawkwind’s Sonic Poetry

Hawkwind closed the show with its unique psychedelic space-rock, punctuated by Robert Calvert’s bizarro poetry. The Hawks’ set suffered from some initial sound and power problems – a bit of a drag, indeed, for a band whose entire vibe was built upon the manic manipulation of the sonic realm. Nevertheless, by the time that the band gets its set off the ground and launched towards the stratosphere with the lengthy “You Shouldn’t Do That,” the chemically-assisted among the audience were soaring wing-to-wing alongside ‘em, if you know what I mean (and I think that you do). After all, this was ‘72 kiddies, and mind-altering goodies like LSD and ‘shrooms, and even peyote had yet to be bulldozed in favor of the extreme highs-and-lows of coke and ‘ludes (and the coming tragedy of the disco era).

Even if many in attendance had brought their aviator helmets and flight jackets with them, nothing could have prepared them for the lightspeed, white lightning, brightly-flashing magic migraine that was Hawkwind in its prime. This is Lemmy the K era ‘wind, with wings of razor-sharp titanium and the most god-awful sonic roar heard this side of purgatorio. “You Shouldn’t Do That” starts with the sound of full-thrust afterburners and steadily climbs to a crescendo build upon shards of crystal riffage, claustrophobic drumbeats, and switchblade synthesizers. You didn’t have to be as high as a Greek god sitting in a stupor on Mount Olympus to enjoy this stuff, but it didn’t hurt any, either.

Not that the old Reverend would prescribe dangerous substances to his gentle readers, but as one who was around back in ‘72 and…ahem…as someone with a taste for various illicit mind-benders and cerebellum-snacks, Hawkwind was definitely playing my song. “The Awakening” is like falling headfirst into a shimmering puddle of quicksand, as slug-like, squiggly guitar lines and odd bodkins synth-squawks leave a slimy, colorful trail across your skullpan. “Master of the Universe” is a delightful proto-metal spacewalk with stunning fretwork, Lemmy’s incandescently heavy basslines, and steady backbreaking rhythms clearly spawning the entire glut of “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” bands that would stumble into the future from the Roundhouse’s doorstep that night.

Space Rock Pioneers

Of course, Hawkwind was never a band to leave an audience simply awestruck when they had a real opportunity to thoroughly reprogram their collective gray matter (reference: the band’s subsequent Space Ritual LP). Devoid of hope, the dark vibe of “Paranoia” is overwhelming in its desperation, but the short, sweet, shock-to-the-brain that is “Earth Calling” is pure Kafka set to something that approximates music, an alien-encounter with intense-sound-and-emotion unheard of in these parts of the galaxy. The out-of-this-world, hard rocking “Silver Machine” was as close to a hit song as Hawkwind’s merry pranksters were ever going to experience (albeit in a slightly different form). Almost traditional in its rock-and-roll aspirations, the song includes some high-flying synth work among its scorching guitars and driving rhythms nonetheless.

The band’s final tune here, the free-form “Brainstorm,” is a cosmic-orgy of massive proportions, a sheer lysergic-fueled attempt at traversing time and space, a mock-battle where no single instrument dominates, but rather they tend to all meld together into a singular noisy conglomeration of sound and fury. When a random guitar or voice does manage to break out of the musical miasma, it’s only to herd the listener back into the hive with electric cattle-prod efficiency. This is the kind of transcendent, out-of-control moment at which Hawkwind often excelled, and their attempt to rewrite the laws of physics that February night back in ‘72 is duly appreciated.

In the middle of the night, however, tucked between the two dynamic, prog-oriented monoliths, was Brinsley Schwarz (with a pre-cool Nick Lowe). The pub-rockers faced down a hostile crowd, winning them over with their exclusive blend of pre-No Depression twang-rock and blue-eyed soul. Whereas the previous two bands left the audience in awe of their mighty instrumental powers, the Brinsley boys pursued a vision of pure songcraft with actual melodies, choruses, and catchy hooks. “Country Girl,” one of the band’s signature songs, is a gently-rolling Byrdsian outtake with more keyboards and less 12-string, while “One More Day” is a playful mid-tempo country rocker that would have fit right in on any Uncle Tupelo album.

Brinsley Schwarz’s Pure Songcraft

The R&B stomp-and-stammer of the vintage Otis Rush tune “Home Work” benefits from some manic string-mangling, while the Nick Lowe rocker “Nervous On the Road (But Can’t Stay At Home)” offers up swaggering soulfulness, Bob Andrews’ Staxian keyboard riffing, fine vocals and subtle touches of rockabilly-tinged guitar. Blessed with two considerable songwriters in Lowe and Ian Gomm, the band had a wealth of material to choose from. Gomm’s “Range War” is a romping, stomping melodic twangfest that expands upon late-era-Byrds with ringing guitars, rapidfire keyboard-bashing and some truly odd lyrics – something about an Old West fracas with six-shooters and, for some strange reason worthy of Hawkwind’s poetic nightmares, Marvel Comics’ anti-hero the Silver Surfer.

The traditional “Midnight Train” is provided an appropriately raucous reading, with some crafty honky-tonk piano, twangy vocals, and South Nashville chicken-picking. The savvy “It’s Just My Way of Saying Thank You” offers whip-smart lyrics, strutting keyboard-led rhythms, and great live harmonies. A cover of Allen Toussaint’s New Orleans soul classic “Wonder Woman” offers a lively rhythmic soundtrack, Andrews’ finest Booker T-influenced pianowork, and some Steve Cropper-styled wiry fretwork. Brinsley Schwarz’s fourth album, 1972’s Silver Pistol, included two songs from obscure American folk-rock songwriter Jim Ford; one of those is performed here – the blues-tinged, countryish “I’m Ahead If I Can Quit While I’m Behind.”

Paradoxical title aside, the song is a freak-folk ballad featuring Schwarz’s finely-crafted guitarwork, mournful vocals, and weeping rhythms … a heartbreaking hillbilly lament if ever there was one. Lowe’s wonderful “Surrender To the Rhythm” is a fine example of what Brinsley Schwarz did best, a seamless fusion of Nashville-by-way-of-Camden-twang with a rolling R&B backbone, ‘60s-era pop aspirations and an “anything goes,” ‘70s rock mentality that lends a timeless quality to a relatively obscure but vastly underrated pub-rock genre.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Sadly, rather than closing on a high note with the delightful “Surrender To The Rhythm,” the second CD in this set instead crawls out on all fours with the atrocious hippie-cretin blathering of Magic Michael. The sort of free-spirited acid-casualty that the late ‘60s and early ‘70s spit out by the handful, Magic Michael haunted London’s rock underground like a drooling phantom, often gracing the stage during mid-band set changes, offering the audience the measure of his limitless lack of talent.  Michael’s “Music Belongs To the People” is a mindless, improvised mess including members of the audience climbing onstage to “jam” alongside the magic one’s yelping vocals and cacophonic guitar strumming. This insipid, fetid chunk of stoner-era trash wouldn’t cut the mustard at the height of Flower Power’s drug-fueled insanity; in this day-and-age, it’s more painful than a botched root canal by a drunken dentist.

If this all sounds like an odd combination of music that I’ve described for you all well, yeah, it is. Any one of these three bands stands on its own, and all three are distinctly different in both style and ambition. That was the magic of the early ‘70s, however…long before corporate radio and major label homogenization lowered expectations across the board, young music fans had a gluttonous buffet of bands to choose from, and we often ate from the trough with glee. It was a high-flying time for “music-as-culture,” and art often times outweighed commerce. Although it’s unlikely that a performance of the diversity and scope of the Greasy Truckers Party concert could take place these days, the album represents more than a mere cultural artifact – Greasy Truckers Party also captures a magical night of music. (Liberty Records, released November 2, 2007)

Review originally published on the Trademark of Quality (TMQ) music blog, 2007

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Greasy Truckers Party

Space Rock: An Interstellar Traveler’s Guide box set

An offshoot, perhaps, of progressive rock, the genre known as “space rock” is the Rodney Dangerfield of classic rock music…it just doesn’t get any respect! That’s unlikely to change with the November 18th, 2016 release of Space Rock: An Interstellar Traveler’s Guide by Purple Pyramid Records, a Cleopatra Records imprint.

A six-CD box set, Space Rock: An Interstellar Traveler’s Guide is packed with jams from legendary bands like Hawkwind, Gong, Can, Tangerine Dream, Ozric Tentacles, Nektar, and Amon Düül II as well as lesser-known but no less talented artists like Popol Vu, Faust, and Guru Guru, among many others. The bands included on the six discs of Space Rock span the globe, ranging from England, Germany, and Scandinavia to New Zealand, Russia, and Italy, the box truly representative of the entire spectrum and diversity of space rock bands. The set also includes a spacey Alice Cooper (!) track, “B.B. On Mars,” as well as an unreleased Nik Turner song and a 1975 interview with the former Hawkwind member and space rock pioneer.

Each disc comes in its own individually-designed jacket, and all six are packaged in a deluxe 7”x7” box with an oversized booklet featuring liner notes by my colleague – esteemed music journalist and historian Dave Thompson (who literally wrote the book on space rock!) – that includes band bios, photos, and freaky lysergic-inspired artwork.

Check out the set’s complete tracklist below and then get on over to Amazon.com and order your copy of Space Rock: An Interstellar Traveler’s Guide!

Space Rock: An Interstellar Traveler’s Guide track list:

DISC 1
1. Can – “All Gates Open”
2. Hedersleben – “Gulf of Lost Souls”
3. Øresund Space Collective – “The Trichophantic Spire”
4. Popol Vuh – “Steh Auf, Zieh Mich Dir Nach”
5. Joel Vandroogenbroeck – “Sign From Space”
6. Ozric Tentacles – “Space Out”
7. Secret Saucer – “Lift Off”
8. An Emerald City – “Seizuretron”
9. Nik Turner – “Out of Control”
10. Melting Euphoria – “Flying Eyes Like Saucers”
11. Guru Guru Groove Band – “UFOlove”
12. Maat Lander – “The Comet Rider”
13. Gong – “Fohat Digs Holes In Space” [Live Paris 1972]

DISC 2
1. Tangerine Dream – “Ultima Thule, Part 1”
2. Brainticket – “Watchin’ You”
3. Faust – “Parasiten”
4. Pyramidal – “Black Land”
5. Shawn Lee – “Low Riders In Space”
6. Hydravion – “Passadena Airport”
7. Pressurehed – “Altitude”
8. Het Droste Effect – “You Know That I Knew”
9. German Oak – “Shadows of War (A. Rain Of Destruction / B. B1 To London)”
10. Daevid Allen Weird Quartet – “The Cold Stuffings of November”
11. Omega – “Don't Keep On Me Waitin’”
12. Kalutaliksuak – “What Are Your Feet Eating?”
13. Oranssi Pazuzu – “Reikä Maisemassa”

DISC 3
1. Steve Hillage & William Shatner – “Rocket Man” [alternate mix]
2. Black Rainbows – “Hawkdope”
3. Guru Freakout – “Notre Dame (Mothership)”
4. XYNN – “Lost In Space” [English version]
5. The Spacelords – “Pyroclastic Monster”
6. Aqua Nebula Oscillator – “Human Toad” [Live]
7. Magic Wands – “Jupiter”
8. Atomic Simao – “Descending”
9. White Manna – “We Pretend Space Isn't There”
10. Yuri Gagarin – “At The Center Of All Infinity”
11. Federico Farnè – “What Illuminates The Night”

DISC 4
1. Guru Guru – “Spaceship” [edit]
2. Hawkwind – “Seeing It As You Really Are”
3. It’s Not Night: It’s Space – “Vibration Eater”
4. Earthling Society – “EA1729”
5. Robert Calvert – “Lemmy & I Swallowed Massive Amounts of Drugs”
6. Gilli Smyth – “What Do You Really Want” [live]
7. The Re-Stoned – “Faces of Earth”
8. The Dunes – “Badlands”
9. Exxasens – “Helios”
10. Oranjjoolius – “Tiki Sleep Cycle”
11. Equations – “SSSUUUNNN”
12. Secret Symbol Society – “Canes Venatici”
13. Lord Fuzz – “The Freak”

DISC 5
1. Amon Düül II – “Archangels Thunderbird”
2. Naxatra – “Space Tunnel”
3. Celestial Bums – “Child of the Moon”
4. Dark Buddha Rising – “L”
5. My Education / Theta Naught Sound Mass – “End Masse”
6. Sun Araw – “Deep Temple”
7. Hidria Spacefolk – “Kaneh Bosm”
8. Dasputnik – “Orbitary Volcano”
9. Ava Cherry – “Highway Blues”
10. Orlando Monday – “Moonchild”
11. MKM – “Retorn Al Planeta Imaginari”
12. Sons of Hippies – “Spaceship Ride”

DISC 6
1. Nektar – “Astronaut’s Nightmare”
2. Chrome – “Eyes In The Center”
3. Space Debris – “Phonomorph”
4. Leroy Powell and The Messengers – “Weightlessness”
5. Electric Orange – “Meals of Confusion”
6. Floorian – “Overruled”
7. Alice Cooper – “B.B. On Mars” [Live 1969]
8. Gdeva – “Autobahn”
9. Vespero – “Vision 7. Kidish Hail”
10. ST 37 – “The ‘In’ Crowd”
11. Nik Turner – “1975 Interview”

Hawkwind’s Early Years Remembered In Print

If you’re of a similar vintage to the Reverend, then British space-rock pioneers Hawkwind probably hold a special place in your heart. The band’s early ‘70s albums like In Search of Space and Space Ritual were mind-blowing, consciousness-expanding experiences for many young rock ‘n’ roll fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Nik Turner has enjoyed a lengthy solo career exploring the outer limits of rock music, but he was also an early and essential member of Hawkwind, contributing to seven of the band’s albums during the decade of the 1970s. Turner has documented these anarchic, chaotic early years in the pages of The Spirit of Hawkwind 1969-1976, a beautiful deluxe hardback book that was published on October 30th, 2015.

Written with music historian Dave Thompson, Turner provides readers with an inside look at the band, from the drug bust of original band bassist Lemmy K to the band’s notorious Glastonbury Festival appearance. The book runs 300 pages and includes an enormous number of rare and never-before-seen photos as well as a comprehensive Hawkwind discography (no mean feat, considering their various side projects, single releases and such), a complete list of band gigs, an a reproduction of Turner’s tour diary from the band’s first U.S. tour in 1975.

The deluxe tome also includes a reproduction of the band’s 1971 single “Sonic Attack,” and a reproduction of a 1971 twenty-page 6”x9” promotional booklet. The Spirit of Hawkwind 1969-1976 ain’t cheap – the Cleopatra Records website is selling it for around $60 – but it’s also a unique piece of Hawkwind memorabilia.

Turner will be touring the U.S. beginning in November in support of his new album Space Fusion Odyssey, performing songs from the rich and deep Hawkwind catalog. The book will be available at the merch table, and Turner will be signing copies of The Spirit of Hawkwind at the shows, which we’ve conveniently listed below.

Nik Turner North American tour dates:

Nov 12 - Brick And Mortar, San Francisco CA
Nov 14 - El Corazon, Seattle WA
Nov 16 - Lion's Liar, Denver CO
Nov 18 - Shank Hall, Milwaukee WI
Nov 20 - Reggie's, Chicago IL
Nov 21 - Token Lounge, Westland MI
Nov 22 - The Rockpile, Toronto, ON Canada
Nov 23 - Grand Victory, Brooklyn NY
Nov 24 - Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
Nov 25 - The Bug Jar, Rochester NY
Nov 27 - Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia PA
Nov 29 - Brighton Bar, Long Branch NJ
Nov 30 - Sellersville Theater, Sellersville PA
Dec 1 - The Pourhouse Music Hall, Raleigh NC
Dec 2 - The Masquerade, Atlanta GA
Dec 3 - Siberia, New Orleans LA
Dec 4 - Notsuoh, Houston TX
Dec 5 - 237 @ The Korova, San Antonio TX
Dec 6 - 7th Street Club, Austin TX
Dec 8 - Rebel Lounge, Phoenix AZ
Dec 9 - Till Two Club, San Diego CA
Dec 10 - The Whiskey, West Hollywood CA
Dec 12 - LVCS, Las Vegas NV
Dec 13 - The Continental Room, Fullerton CA

Related Content: Nik Turner's Space Fusion Odyssey CD Preview

Nik Turner goes on Space Fusion Odyssey

This LP appeared on your favorite music dealer’s shelves a few days ago, but in case you may have missed it, sonic provocateur Nik Turner (Hawkwind) released his new solo album, titled Space Fusion Odyssey. The follow-up to Turner’s critically-acclaimed 2013 release Space Gypsy, the new album includes contributions from a stellar cast of talented guests, including Billy Cobham, Robby Krieger of the Doors, Steve Hillage and Gilli Smyth of Gong, Soft Machine’s John Etheridge, and Amon Düül II founder John Weinzierl, among others.

Released by Cleopatra Records’ Purple Pyramid imprint, Turner’s Space Fusion Odyssey CD comes packaged in a mini-LP gatefold sleeve with a 12-panel poster, while a vinyl version arrives in a deluxe 12-panel poster fold-up jacket, pressed on glorious, gorgeous starburst colored wax. Leading what he’s dubbed the Interplanetary Arkestra (in honor of jazz legend Sun Ra), Turner applies his otherworldly sax and flute playing to an ambitious set of jazz-fusion influenced psychedelic space-rock that is quiet unlike anything you’ve heard before (don’t believe me – stick the video below into your earholes and if the swirling guitarplay of Robby Krieger and Megadeth/Ohm axeman Chris Poland doesn’t blow your little mind, nothing will…)

Later this year, Turner will be publishing The Spirit of Hawkwind 1969-1976, the book promising to be the definitive biography of the legendary space-rock innovators, documenting the band’s gravy years. Written by Turner and noted music historian Dave Thompson, the hardcover tome will include over 250 pages of rare and unseen photos as well as a comprehensive Hawkwind discography – no mean feat, considering the extensive and oft-confusing Hawkwind/Hawklords back catalog. Definitely a book for the Hawk-geek among us (the Reverend included…)

Nik Turner’s Space Fusion Odyssey track list:
1. Adjust The Future
2. Hypernova
3. Spiritual Machines
4. Pulsar
5. An Elliptical Galaxy
6. A Beautiful Vision In Science Forgotten
7. We Came In Peace *
8. Interstellar Clouds *
9. Spiritual Machines Chapter 2 *
10. Random Acts (Revisited) with The Fusion Syndicate *

* CD bonus tracks

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Nik Turner's Space Fusion Odyssey

Nik Turner's Fallen Angel STS-51-L

Space-rock legend Nik Turner has returned with a new single and video in advance of his upcoming album, titled Space Gypsy, which includes musical guests like Gong's Steve Hillage and Turner's former Hawkwind bandmate Simon House.

Turner's "Fallen Angel STS-51-L" will be released as a digital track available via iTunes on July 2nd, 2013 while a limited-edition 7" vinyl single (500 only) will be put up for sale on July 14th. Turner has created a spiffy new video for the song, incorporating footage from a recent performance at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, and it's every bit the trippy mind-fest that you'd expect from one of the pioneers of psychedelic space-rock.

Nik Turner was a founding member of U.K. sound terrorists Hawkwind, the singer and saxophonist an essential part of the band's commercial heyday, circa 1970-1976. Turner wrote and/or co-wrote some of the band's most popular tunes, including "Brainstorm," "Silver Machine," and "Master of the Universe" and appeared on such classic Hawkwind albums as In Search of Space, Doremi Fasol Latido, and Space Ritual. Apart from the band he helped make a legend, Turner has had a long and interesting career, working and recording with outfits like the Inner City Unit, Helios Creed, and his own band Sphinx among many others.    

In a press release for the song, Turner says “this single is the epitome of epiphanic, orgasmic, cathartic embodiment of my space dreams, become one man's reality, exploding into space. Expect lots more on this awesome album.” After watching the video for "Fallen Angel STS-51-L" more times that should be legal to do so, the Reverend found the song to be white-hot molten slag that pours into your consciousness like honey oozing from the paws of a drunken bear. Check out the video (below) for yourself and see what you think…

Nik Turner's website [link]