Search - Hawkwind :: Levitation

Hawkwind at their best!

R. Recchia | blodgett mills, ny | 10/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hawkwind got the 80's off to an amazing start with Levitation.
This is a GREAT ALBUM! The production values are state of the
art, the synthesizers have never sounded better and the songs
rank as some of the best Hawkwind have ever recorded! This is
Hawkwind at their recorded best! AND, Hawkwind really rock out
on this album! Kudos to Ginger Baker for his adventurous drum-
ming! My favorite songs include the title track, a revved up
space rocker with a very exciting instrumental section that may
be my all time favorite Hawkwind song; the fast paced instrumen-
tals," World of Tiers" and "Space Chase" and Tim Blake's gor-
geous synthesizer instrumental " Prelude". The only mistake is
the song "Nuclear Toy", the bonus track which is included on the
cd version! This song is very weak and should NOT have been
included! Otherwise, GREAT ALBUM!! A MUST HAVE!!"

Recommended for Anyone

Eric DiStefano | 08/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those Hawkwind albums that fans often suggest among their best, but notwithstanding the controversy in any discussion of "the best", this one is safe for any new listener to Hawkwind. Solid rock from end-to-end. And, yes, the cliche Ginger Baker drums have a powerful impact on the sound. If you want a dose of powerhouse rock, go for this. If you are more progressively-inclined, go for Hall of the Mountain Grill first, but definitely add this one to your stash if you like what you hear of Hawkwind."

Another great Hawkwind album

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 06/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Levitation was originally released in 1980 on the Bronze label (the British label that issued albums from Colosseum, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Uriah Heep). As every self-respecting Hawkwind fan out there knows, the band was never known for keeping a steady lineup, but it usually never affected the quality of their output. By this time, 1980, the band featured yet another lineup change. For a short time, in 1978, the band went by the name of Hawklords and released an album that year called 25 Years On. That album was their first to feature bassist Harvey Bainbridge. In 1979, they changed their name back to Hawkwind and got new members in. Dave Brock is here, as always, with Huw Lloyd-Langton returning (he appeared on their 1970 debut), Tim Blake, of Gong fame, and fresh off his two brilliant solo albums, Crystal Machine (1977) and New Jerusalem (1978), and originally Simon King on drums. This was the lineup that gave us the Live '79 album. When they got to work on Levitation in mid 1980, they recorded with Simon King, but halfway through, he left, and a totally unlikely drummer stepped in: none other than ex-Cream and Blind Faith drummer Ginger Baker! What an odd fellow to include in Hawkwind, to say the least. Also interesting, this album, like Stevie Wonder's Secret Life of Plants, was one of the earliest albums recorded digitally. Despite the digital recording, it doesn't sound like digital recordings you expect from the mid 1980s, and the synth sounds are still analog (Moog, EMS Synthi A, like what Blake was using in Gong and his solo efforts). This album is stuffed with more great Hawkwind classics like the title track, "Motorway City", "Who's Gonna Win the War", and "Dust of Time". "Prelude" is a wonderful Tim Blake ambient piece, and shows that this is as good as anything that came off his New Jerusalem album, it's too bad it's too short, but this is after all, a Hawkwind album. While many other bands really went downhill bad by 1980, Hawkwind still continued releasing great albums, and remained so even in the 1990s. If you're a Hawkwind fan, be sure to add Levitation to your collection."