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HAWKESTREL: THE FUTURE IS US

Alan Davey

Psychedelic/Space Rock


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Alan Davey Hawkestrel: The Future Is Us album cover
4.38 | 10 ratings | 2 reviews | 20% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 2019

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Do What You Need to Do (8:16)
2. World for Fear (4:41)
3. Sea of Sand (4:59)
4. Nyx of Khaos (3:45)
5. The Future Is Us (4:38)
6. Sonic Attack (3:15)
7. 12 String Shuffle (3:47)
8. May Sun (6:10)
9. Goodbye Death Valley (4:45)
10. Free Like Us (5:04)
11. Old Dinah (4:21)
12. Hawkestrel (4:59)
13. Bad Boys for Life (2019 AD Version) (3:26)

Total Time 62:06

Line-up / Musicians

- Alan Davey (Hawkwind) / bass, guitar, vocals, synthesizer, drum arrangements, oud, piano

With:
- Ginger Baker (Hawkwind) / drums & percussion (3-5,7,8,11)
- Paul Rudolph (Hawkwind) / guitar (2,3,5,9,10)
- Nik Turner (Hawkwind) / saxophone (2,4,5)
- Simon House (Hawkwind) / violin (1,8)
- Huw Lloyd-Langton (Hawkwind) / acoustic guitar & harp (7)
- Lemmy Kilmister (Hawkwind) / vocals (13)
- Mick Slattery / guitar (4,11)
- Bridget Wishart / vocals (3,10)
- William Shatner / vocals (6)
- Nigel Potter / vocals breathes, cries & screams (8)
- Kevin M Sommers / vocals (11)

Releases information

Hawkwind fans! This incredible project brings together a host of former members and associates of the Hawkwind family.

Label: Cleopatra Records (CLO1235)
Format: Vinyl, CD, Digital
August 9, 2019

Thanks to mbzr48 for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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ALAN DAVEY Hawkestrel: The Future Is Us ratings distribution


4.38
(10 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(20%)
20%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(60%)
60%
Good, but non-essential (10%)
10%
Collectors/fans only (10%)
10%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

ALAN DAVEY Hawkestrel: The Future Is Us reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by TCat
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
5 stars Hello Hawkwind fans. Alan Davey was the bassist for Hawkwind from 1985 to 1996 and then again from 2000 to 2007. He is the brains behind this band called Hawkestrel, where he provides most of the vocals and instrumentals of the project. Of course, it stands to reason that, since the name of the project is a definite hint to the Hawkwind name, there would be more in common than this to merit a handle that reflect this relationship. Of course there is. Alan has recruited several past musicians that have worked with Hawkwind through the years and scores of line up changes to participate in some of the tracks on this album called "The Future is Us", released in August of 2019. This album, which lasts a little over an hour, has 13 tracks and plenty of opportunities to bring in these special guests. Two major players that show up several times on this album are Ginger Baker (who is famous in his own right, but also played drums on the album "Levitation" (1980)) and Paul Rudolph (who played bass on "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music" (1976)).

Starting with "Do What You Need to Do" (8:16), Simon House guest stars on violin. House played violin, synthesizer and other keys sporadically for the band, from 1973 ? 1978, 1989 ? 1991, and again as a guest from 2000 ? 2002). House's violin comes in quite early, giving the space rock track that middle-Eastern sound. The track is built upon a heavy guitar and bass riff with moderately fast rhythm and airy space effects. Davey's vocals don't come in until well into the 2nd minute, and the sound is definitely Hawkwind, not a cheap imitation at all. This is the Hawkwind sound we have been craving. Plenty of rocking and plenty of jamming, you would swear this was a track from the 70s. "World for Fear" (4:41) brings in Paul Rudolph on guitar and original member Nik Turner (1969 ? 1976, 1982 ? 1984) on sax. More layers of space rock joy continue here with swirling guitar and sax standing out in the mix. The track is a bit noisier than the first with heavy synths tying it all together. "Sea of Sand" (4:59) retains Paul Rudolph on guitar who doubles with Ginger Baker, who also plays percussion here. This track has a moderate sound, and less noise. Heavy bass and dissonant sax play together in a long introduction, then guest vocalist Bridget Wishart (Hawkwind's only female lead vocalist from 1989 ? 1991) brings in a psychedelic, mysterious sound as the full band sound kicks in along with a faster tempo. The track has a ore experimental feel to it which is really quite appealing. Tempo's change in various places, and a riff from a violin comes in on the last part of the track that turns the music into a swirling dance.

"Nyx of Khaos" (3:45) brings back Ginger Baker on drums and Nik Turner on sax. The beat is quite heavy and the sax has plenty to say here too. Guest Mick Slattery (one of the original guitarists from 1969) also helps out on guitar. A nice synth loop creates a tonal percussion effect. It's a great instrumental with a progressive feel and tricky drum patterns. Baker also plays drums on the title track "The Future is Us" (4:38) and Rudolph once again helps out on guitar. Turner's sax is also back for this one. Davey's vocals are up front on this psychedelic track, which starts off in a hesitant way, but a moderate rhythm is finally established as it moves on and the sax continues doing a sort of call and answer with the vocals. It's a nice, mostly atmospheric and pensive track, but don't be surprised when things explode into action a few times.

"Sonic Attack" is an old spoken word track from Hawkwind, but this time the vocals are done by none other than William Shatner. It actually sounds natural to have him there, like you almost expected it. His voice is heavily echoed and effects are added to help dramatize everything, and of course, you get some contrasting vocals and plenty of space effects. The track is strangely cool, but weird and campy. "12 String Shuffle" (3:47) brings in Hawkwinds founder Huw Lloyd-Langton (1969 ? 1971, 1979 ? 1988 and as a guest from 2002 ? 2005, died in 2012) on acoustic guitar and harp, recorded from sessions from years before. Sound effects surround his performance and harmonica and drums by Baker are also added in. The track has a really nice western/psych feel to it. "May Sun" (6:10) returns to the heavy space rock sound. The keys, bass and guitar are solid against a heavy and moderate beat by Baker. Simon House provides violin on this track again, and again he gets plenty of time to shine even with the many layers of synth noise and loud bass. Davey's vocals are mysterious and somewhat monotone.

Paul Rudolph returns on guitar for "Goodbye Death Valley" (4:45), which starts off after a short synth introduction. The track is a fast space rock song with an extended jam that easily would fit comfortably on any Hawkwind album. Alan does his best calling on his inner Lemmy-style vocals. "Free Like Us" (5:04) also features Rudolph on guitar and brings back Bridget Wishart as guest vocalist. This is another fast space rock jam style song, but with the refreshing female vocals. It makes you wonder why she wasn't utilized more in the Hawkwind days. "Old Dinah" (4:21) brings back Baker one more time with a solid moderate tempo, and a very psychedelic sounding track about the train. Mick Slattery also returns on guitar, and Kevin M. Sommers (who has worked with Alan Davey in the past) lends his off-key, but appropriate vocals. "Hawkestrel" (4:59) is the only track completely performed by Davey. Not a bad track, but it's interesting how the thick track allows nothing to really stand out here as everything except the vocals are buried in layers of instruments, at least until the 2 minute mark, when everything breaks down and gets atmospheric, and then a nice soft guitar solo plays against meandering space effects and synth loops. The last track ends the album with a loud and rocking remake of "Bad Boys for Life (2019 AD Version)" (3:26) sung by Lemmy Kilmister (bass and vocals from 1971 ? 1975, well-known for being Motorhead's frontman, who died in 2015). This is a very appropriate way to end the album with a bang, and this remake is quite good, with a nice synth solo at the end that plays well against the heavy guitar.

If there are any Hawkwind or Hawkwind tribute albums out there that successfully brings back the glory days and sound of Hawkwind, then this is it. The sound is great, the atmosphere and performances are perfect, and somehow, everything ties together into one excellent cohesive package. This is the best Hawkwind album that Hawkwind never released in any of their incarnations. It is totally enjoyable and brings back the most faithful rendition of their sound that I have heard. Hawkwind fans definitely need to hear this one, and it would easily fit in their repertoire. The addition of guests that have had a chance to work with the band in this tribute only makes it that much more enjoyable and authentic. The work of all of these guests is very well balanced also, so that their distinctive work can easily be heard and not drowned out by layers of guest work on only a few tracks, instead, spreading the performances out evenly, only make this album that much better. This is definitely a five star album that I will return to often.

Review by Progfan97402
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Hawkestral is a combinations of the words ""hawk" and "kestrel". with a name like that you're certain this is Hawkwind-related, and you're correct and this was an Alan Davey project involving many different Hawkwind members. I have a feeling this project took literally years to make given that Huw-Lloyd Langton and Lemmy are present and both passed away long before the album's release (Ginger Baker would leave us a couple months after The Future is Us was released). How is this? Well like a Hawkwind album, and surprisingly so given the total lack of Dave Brock's present (after all if Dave was present, it would have to be a Hawkwind album). It's certainly better than anything Hawkwind has done of recent, and I am really surprised. This album has some amazing stuff, for example, "Sea of Sand" with Bridget Wishart (she appeared on Space Bandits and Palace Springs) and Ginger Baker. I'm a bit surprised to find Ginger even agreeing to appear on some of the songs on this album given his cranky attitude and attitude towards music (look how he trashed Mick Jagger, Keith Moon and John Bonham and thinking that Cream should have been aborted since they've been called in the rock press "the forefathers of heavy metal"). Anyways an amazing Middle Eastern-influenced piece complete with oud (lute predecessor common in Arab, Turkish, and even Armenian and Greek music) and even some Berber chanting (which sounds like Native American chanting, which is not done by putting you hand over your mouth like on Saturday morning cartoons, but movement of the tongue while emitting a high-pitched sound). Berbers are native to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (even a bit of Egypt). Lyrically it's unsurprisingly Arabian Nights influenced, in this case Aladdin. It's nice to hear Bridget Wishart singing again, seeing she never stayed in the band for long (from 1989 to 1991). "Nyx of Chaos" features Nik Turner and Ginger Baker. Sounds like Nik was adopting a more jazz approach to his sax playing. I got a kick off the remake of "Sonic Attack" seeing none other than William Shatner narrate it. It's very difficult to keep a straight face hearing this version given his pompous approach seems downright comical. For one, I keep thinking of those Priceline ads where he butchered hit songs way back in 2000 (which was hardly a new thing he was doing, he did that as early as 1968 with his first album The Transformed Man with "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). Also I was wondering if he was going to give us those trademark dramatic pauses here? He sure didn't disappoint. But what keeps this from a complete embarrassment is the trippy mood and electronic sound effects. "12-String Shuffle" with Huw-Lloyd Langton is a bit different seeing it's an instrumental bluesy piece. "Bad Boys for Life" features Lemmy and if most certainly sounds exactly like how Hawkwind would have sounded like if he never left the band. His bass playing and vocals are unmistakable. Apparently he recorded this song for a movie soundtrack to Sunset Society (from 2018, but obviously recorded before his death). I haven't heard that version, but the Hawkestral version is likely different, more Hawkwind-like. Highly recommended, even if you feel Hawkwind had lost it in recent years.

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