ATOMHENGE 76

A full live set from the Atomhenge tour, supporting the Astonishing Sounds, Amazing Music album but also previewing some cuts which would later surface on PXR 5 or Quark, Strangeness and Charm. The Calvert-led, Charisma-based incarnation of Hawkwind tended to be a little more genteel than their preceding or subsequent versions on the studio albums - especially on Astonishing Sounds and Quark, Strangeness etc. - but this release is reassuringly heavy, to the point where those who miss the Lemmy years may find it an easier introduction to the band's Charisma period than the studio releases from the time.

That said, the sound mix, whilst well above bootleg standard, is not quite on the level of, say, the Live '78 recording of the Hawklords tour; in particular, Nik Turner's sax and Simon House's violin can get a little lost in the mix, which is a particular shame. And on the closing number, Kerb Crawler, the sound quality takes a sudden dive. What would have been a 5-star live release is dragged down to four stars by these shortcomings.