Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Hawkwind - Palace Springs CD (album) cover

PALACE SPRINGS

Hawkwind

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

3.74 | 65 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Warthur
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Palace Springs is a Hawkwind live album taken from a 1989 performance at LA's Palace Theatre, preceded by two studio tracks recorded in a mobile studio at around the same time. In terms of its musical style, the studio material seems to be a continuation of the sound found on The Xenon Codex as well as showcasing the talents of new vocalist Bridgett Wishart; the same is true of the live set, which finds the band giving refreshing updates to a chunk of their old repertoire.

Disappointingly, Bridgett only really gets to lend vocals to the newer songs in the set, with old standards being given a tired-sounding runthrough by Dave Brock. This is a real shame, and to be honest kind of a waste - Wishart's vocals, when they're present, are pretty interesting and would certainly add a new dimension to hoary old classics like The Golden Void. Between this and the somewhat sluggish and lethargic pace of the second half of the album, I wouldn't call this essential live Hawkwind, but it's a good pick if you're a fan. (The slow pace isn't necessarily a problem, but it is something to get used to.) Recent expanded editions not only tack on bonus tracks but also provide an entire bonus disc of a later live performance from 1990 - a set which had previously been released under the title "California Brainstorm" - and thus provide substantially better value than earlier releases.

Warthur | 4/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this HAWKWIND review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.