Hawkwind - Motorway City

Released during Hawkwind's 'controversial' 80's period (consisting of much more electronic experimentation and less chugging riffs), this little single here contains two amazing tracks which are full live staples of our long running heroes. Motorway City and a live updated Master Of The Universe. During this time, Hawkwind were also taking in more metal influences, and writing... GASP... conventional songs, but it's still Hawkwind through and through. Previously, I've reviewed their hit single, Silver Machine, and  professed my extensive love for Hawkwind's brand of space rock. So it's interesting to see how this holds up to that genre defining classic.

A crystalline appegiated synth, staccato guitar and a Hew Loyd Langdon guitar solo take us into this funky groove of Motorway City, which lasts for the verses, and Dave Brock's unmissable singing. The breaks between verses/chorus have more smooth guitar work and we get some nice powerchords during the chorus. This isn't like the old full and heavy Hawkwind, it's much more musical and sounds like it could have been a big hit if done by a more commercial band. We get anthemic choruses, decently accessible keyboard chords and a lovely rhythm going on. It's very danceable, yet still very spaced out. The band is insanely tight, and I think this might be around the time that they started using click tracks, as it's very spot on with the timing. We get another silky spacey guitar break over an extended jam and then the track fades to silence, due to the time constraints. All in all, this is a great track, solid playing and a cool groove.

The flip side, Master Of The Universe, takes the legendary Hawkwind track, and updates it for a more contemporary time, ironically making it sound so much more dated than earlier versions. It starts with some classic Hawkwind riffage, which melts into Master Of The Universe' trademark riff, however this time, it is punctuated by a keyboard jangle at the end of each line. Brock's vocals lack the insane punch of Nik Turner's from previous versions, yet still carry the absurdist lines. Langdon plays a very very awesome guitar solo over the vamping powerchords, also worth pointing out here the frantic thrash-like drumming going on. Now, back to that solo, it's more conventional rock than 70's Hawkwind, but ultimately fits in with this track well. Ending with a roaring crowd, we realise that this is a live track, yet the quality is still amazing.

As with anything Hawkwind, I would recommend getting hold of this single. Two great versions of two great songs. Masters Of The Universe is suitably heavy and Motorway City is pure class.

Hawkwind - Silver Machine

It will come as no suprise to anybody who knows me, that I will post about Silver Machine early on. Hawkwind are easily one of my favourite bands, one which has shapped and inspired so many genres, and despite being pensioners, even now they push forward with their own ever-changing brand of spacerock. Hawkwind are a genre by themselves.
But... Enough of this gushing, time to talk about this classic single.

Silver Machine is not my favourite Hawkwind track by a longshot, however this is to it's benefit. It replaces their trademark pummeling riffs with a chugging rock'n'roll rhythm, allowing it a more commercial and traditional value. But this is no ordinary rocker, the spacey sound effects take us off to Jupiter and beyond, and as the track plays out, we just go further and further. Robert Calvert's lyrics about his childhood bicycle become an adreneline filled description of a mysterious 'Silver Machine' which describes what seems to be a spaceship, but with an overly sexual tone. Most famously, here the world is shown Lemmy unleashed, for the first real time. And the world loved him. His greasy biker shouting jack daniels vocals really work well with the rock'n'roll vibe. This is outer space pubrock.

The B-Side is another Hawkwind Classic, Seven By Seven. Whilst Silver Machine was the high of the trip, this is the crushing downer. True dark psychedelia describes a journey, being lost in the dark world, your soul lost for all eternity. The classic Hawkwind pummeling riffage is on force here, complimented by a softer verse section, reflective. The chorus however is shrieked at us through a vast echo, we get the desperation, it brings us down. Though for whatever reason, there is a sense of restrain here, I'd assume from the production side as the playing is brutal. The track is utterly spacey and cosmic and not at all unlike Jack Kirby's Fourth World comics which were being published around the same time (and I really would recommend reading them!).

This 7" represents a trip, and it doesn't let us down. While Seven By Seven would truely find it's real sound on Hawkwind's epic Space Ritual live album, Silver Machine here is the best version around. Noticably the mix on Vinyl has far more depth of sound than the version on CD reissues, and the dance remix is pretty... terrible. So yeah, here we have the definitive version of Hawkwind's most well known song, and a somewhat controlled rendition of a great song. Naturally I would recommend everybody purchase this, it serves as the perfect introduction to one of rock's most explorative bands, the introduction to the majesty of Lemmy, and most importantly of all, two kick-ass tracks containing a heavyness unheard of at the time.