WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME

This album takes off exactly where the previous one left off, and it is almost as good. Well, that's what I think anyway. Almost everyone else will tell you that Warrior On The Edge Of Time is the best Hawkwind studio album, but for me, while it's a good album, it just lacks some of the moments of sheer beauty that characterize the Hall Of The Mountain Grill album. Nonetheless it's a totally far-out trip.

The fun begins with Assault & Battery which rides on a blend of harsh vocals (who can forget the "Assault and battery on the human anatomy" chant!) and driving rock beats with Nik Turner's playful flute, and segues into the synth-laden space anthem The Golden Void, a classic that concludes with some great jamming featuring Simon House's violin and Nik Turner's sax. The Wizard Blew His Horn on the other hand (and this echoed by a couple of other pieces ... Standing At The Edge and Warriors) is just Robert Calvert (check maybe Michael Moorcock) fantasy readings, backed by random cymbal crashes, percussive noises and discordant instrumental contributions. I don't quite like them myself, and perhaps that's one reason why I rate this album lower than Hall Of The Mountain Grill.

Still, Opa-loka and Magnu are classic Hawkwind style pulsating rock jams, propelled by bass in particular, while layers of sound stream past. Opa-loka is like Tangerine Dream meets Can, but better than both, while Magnu is full of echo-laden vocals and Eastern themed fills. with House having a field day on this track. Spiral Galaxy 28948 is just as adventurous as the name suggests, and is my favourite track here, with heavy synths and darting flute, an unusual rhythmic attack (as opposed to the admittedly one- dimensional style that characterizes most Hawkwind jams).

There's also The Demented Man, which is one of those acoustic ballads with swirling sounds even if it is inferior to its counterpart on Hall Of The Mountain Grill, Web Weaver. Dying Seas is another bass-driven rumble with House's violin and squirmy synths taking a lead role before Turner's sax wraps it up, but it's not quite as great as past efforts ... in fact the sudden fade-out suggests a jam that went wrong! As for the Kings Of Speed, it is a rockier, more commercial song that sounds like an attempt to capitalise on the Silver Machine hit.

Special note should go to the bonus track Motorhead, which is written and sung by Lemmy Kilminster who was soon fired from the band and went on to form a power trio named after this song. It's a defining tune for him obviously, and House' brilliant violin solo gives it a flavour that 99% of Lemmy's compositions don't have, but I don't like it quite as much as Lost Johnny, his contribution to Hall Of The Mountain King (hmmm, that album just keeps cropping up). Despite the constant griping, I do believe this album to be Hawkwind's second best effort, and well worth tracking down. ... 56% on the MPV scale