QUARK, STRANGENESS AND CHARM

The four studio albums and one live album that HAWKWIND put out between 1971 and 1975 made me a big fan of this band. After 1975 there's only one album that I would say can sit with those five in terms of quality and that's 1980's "Levitation". "Quark, Strangeness And Charm" is a good album that many of HAWKWIND's fans hold in high esteem.

My complaint is that the uptempo and catchy tunes just don't hold up after many listens. I just get tired of them. Too bad because the songs that they slow down like "Hassan I Sabah" with that Middle Eastern flavour shows what kind of album this could have been. Also "Fable Of A Failed Race" with the spirit of "In Search Of Space" all over it is just so good. I just like that kind of mood. Another highlight is "Damnation Alley" the longest tune with a great instrumental section after 4 minutes. Also "The Forge Of Vulcan" is kind of cool with waves of synths and that electronic sounding beat. It builds to a powerful sound late. Perhaps the greatest strength of this album though is Robert Calvert's song writing. So witty and very well done. Impressive. The popular tracks like "Spirit Of The Age", "Quark, Strangeness And Charm" and "The Days Of The Underground" are fun but too commercial sounding.

3.5 stars and well worth checking out.