Search - Robert Calvert :: Test-Tube Conceived

Best Calvert Album

David C. Kramer | Chicago, IL USA | 05/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you know who Hawkwind are, then you know who Robert Calvert is. You may have heard (or may even own) the great "Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters" album, with such famous guest starts as Lemmy, Paul Rudolph, Brian Eno, and Twink (not to mention Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Del Dettmar, and Simon King of Hawkwind).

Let me tell you, I like "Test Tube Conceived" much better, and here's why:

The music is much more cutting edge. It really picks up where "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" and the Hawklords album "25 Years On" left off. There was a hint of this album on "Freq," with the song "Acid Rain," but where that song was just a tasty morsel this album is a meal unto itself.

If you ever want to get more than a glimpse into Robert Calvert's mental illness (which is well documented), then there isn't a better piece than the song "I Hear Voices." Most performers would sing something like this for purely entertainment purposes; I suspect that Calvert was more than half-serious when he recorded the song.

He was way ahead of his time. Songs like "On Line" and "Thanks to the Scientists" are now coming true.

Really, you need to own this one if you're into this kind of thing at all."