October 23, 2009 Playlist

Pledge Drive!
A Heavy & Progressive Seventies Special
 
"Space Ritual" by Hawkwind (UK 1973)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Hawkwind "Space Ritual"  1973 (UK)
The theme of this week's pledge special is the "heavy and progressive" 1970's, and so Hawkwind's 1973 double live album is this week's featured record.  Heavy it certainly is -- Lemmy Kilmeister's pummeling bass drives the band's cromagnon rhythm section -- and progressive it kinda is too, at least in so much as the group was obsessed with science fiction mythology.  Their mind-blowing shows included massive amounts of strobe lights, bubbles, projections, dancers (often nude or painted), and so on.  Therefore a live album seems like the ultimate expression of Hawkwind in their glory days, and most fans seem to think this is the band's masterpiece.
Here's a music video of the band's UK Top 10 single "Silver Machine" (the song is sung by bassist Lemmy Kilmeister on the record -- his vocal was overdubbed on a live recording from this same period in place of the original vocal by Robert Calvert -- in other words, this is a "fake live" clip.)  And here's the first part of a BBC documentary about the band, with lots of clips & interviews with Lemmy and others.  Here is the 1997 version of the band doing more Lemmy-era material (without Lemmy of course -- he's in Motorhead these days.)
 
(R) = Listener Request
   
Artist Song Album Year Country
Flower Travellin' Band 21st Century Schizoid Man (R) (King Crimson) Anywhere 1970 Japan
King Crimson (R) Cat Food In The Wake Of Poseidon 1970 UK
Gentle Giant Why Not? Gentle Giant 1970 UK
 
 
Yes South Side Of The Sky Fragile 1972 UK
Genesis Return Of The Giant Hogweed Nursery Cryme 1971 UK
Van der Graaf Generator The Sleepwalkers Godbluff 1975 UK
   
 
Hawkwind Seven By Seven
   / Sonic Attack
  / Time We Left This World Today
Space Ritual
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1973 UK
Yoko Ono Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City Plastic Ono Band 1970 Japan
Magma Mekanik Machine A-side 7" single (Simples CD) 1974 France
   
 
Kraftwerk Stratovarius Kraftwerk 1970 Germany
Can Pinch Ege Bamyasi 1972 Germany
   
 
Miles Davis Sivad Live Evil 1971 USA
Funkadelic Smokey Hardcore Jollies 1976 USA
Mahavishnu Orchestra Vital Transformation The Inner Mounting Flame 1971 UK/USA/
Czech./
Ireland/
Panama
 
 
Black Sabbath Behind The Wall Of Sleep
   / Bassically
   / N.I.B.
Black Sabbath 1970 UK
Tiger B. Smith Everything I Need Tiger Rock 1972 Germany
Speed Glue & Shinki Keep It Cool Eve 1971 Japan
             
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