ANTHOLOGY OF COSMIC MUSIC

While "Anthology of cosmic music" is a rather clumsy budget label repackaging with hopelessly inadequate sleeve notes, it is nonetheless a highly enjoyable collection. Just three bands are featured on the album, Hawkwind, Van Der Graaf Generator, and Amon Dull II with Robert Calvert.

The Hawkwind tracks appear regularly on different compilations. It seems pretty certain that they have simply been lifted from the "Space ritual volume 2" live album of 1985, the recordings dating from 1973. This means that the versions of "Time we left." and "Brainstorm" here are longer than those which appeared on the original "Space ritual" album and which were edited since they were "a bit long". We do not get the whole album, but a decent 45 minutes or so. The titles become a bit muddled at times, with "Electronic No 1" being listed as "Space is deep". Sound wise, the recordings vary in quality, but those with a passion for all things Hawkwind will find them interesting if they do not have them already.

There are 13 tracks credited to Van Der Graaf Generator in total, taken from two completely different sources. The first 6 tracks are lifted from the "Now and then" compilation of 1988 which was largely a re-release of "Gentlemen Prefer Blues". In reality, these are actually by Evans, Banton, Jackson the three remaining band members following Peter Hammill's brief departure from the band. The recordings mostly date from 1986. The tracks have never been released as a bona fide album either in the name of VDGG or the trio, but have now crossed over from the murky world of the bootleg to quasi-legitimate status, originally on the "Then and now" compilation. Being studio tracks, the sound quality is very good of course, especially when contrasted with the preceding Hawkwind numbers. These though are not true Van Der Graaf Generator songs. The absence of Peter Hammill in both a song writing and vocal context immediately raises doubts. These are confirmed by the smooth soft jazz which prevails virtually throughout. I say "virtually", as "The main slide" is completely different from the other five tracks, being a freeform exercise in noises. VDGG collectors should find the tracks here to be of interest though.

Note that the two genuine VDGG tracks on "Now and then" (The liquidator" and "Tarzan") appear on the second disc alongside the other Hammill composed songs. This second batch of seven VDGG tracks are all taken from the "Time Vaults" compilation of 1982. These are previously unreleased works written by Peter Hammill and recorded by the band in the early to mid-1970's while VDGG did not officially exist. Apart from the excellent "Liquidator", there is little here to get excited about, most of the tracks being studio improvisations and demos.

The tracks credited to Amon Duul II and Robert Calvert are the most interesting. Thanks to Progarchives member BaldJean some time ago, I have learned some of the background to Robert Calvert's (best known for his work with Hawkwind and his solo albums) work with Amon Duul. This is in fact the UK version of the band, who were known simply as Amon Duul (not Amon Duul II or III). The recordings here constitute their 1989 album "Die Losung" in its entirety. With an awesomely lackadaisical attitude to accuracy, the sleeve notes simply show the song writing credits as "unknown" throughout! Musically, the band adopted a fairly conventional 1980's pop rock style, most of the songs having hit potential. There are reminders of Bowie, Billy Idol, Japan and the many elctro synth bands of the 80's throughout. The fine lead guitar work of John Weinzierl and Ed Wynne does however set the songs apart.

In summary, this is a woefully packaged collection, devoid of sleeve notes or information of any sort about the contents. There are misnamed tracks, wrongly identified bands, and a lack of attention to detail which sets a new standard in shoddiness. The grandiose title of the compilation is optimistic to the point of being criminally misleading. This is no "Anthology", it is a patchwork of bootlegs, long forgotten albums and live material, much of which was deemed sub-par at the time, which has been thrown together. Ignoring all this though, this is actually a very worthwhile and cost effective collection of hard to find material.