SPACEHEAD: Of Stars And Time -Redux CD-R£9.99
Now on Lab 23, this is the only official version of this now on the market. First off, Dibs, bassist, vocalist and composer, has taken five tracks from the original album and remastered them to improve the sound so that the background noise so prevalent on the EBS copies has largely gone, although you still have to turn it up slightly more to get the full-on Hawkwind-style space rock effect that is launched from the speakers. That said, they do sound better now and, as a set of corking space-rock, works a treat. Then you get the fourth track from the 'Sentinel' cassette that the Dead Earnest label didn't put on the, now deleted, CD of 'In Space We Trust', a track called 'Fyre Dragon'. Next is a previously unreleased instrumental called 'Saucers' recorded in 1999. Finally, you get the bonus of a cover version of Hawkwind's 'Upside Down' recorded live in Buxton in 1998, and the fifty-one minute album is complete. As a debut, it still delivers the goods and if you like real seventies-sounding space rock in the Hawkwind vein, this will do the business.
SPACEHEAD: Escape Velocity Previews CD-R EP£5.99
In advance of the new studio album being recorded, Spacehead have elected to release an exclusive preview of the album taken from the initial mix of the material. You might think this an odd thing to do, but when you hear the quality of the tracks and how the composing, arranging and sheer performance of the band have increased a thousand-fold since even the album I put out on Dead Earnest, I think you will not only see why they have released this CD but also be waiting with more than eager anticipation for the album when it comes, and that WILL be a gem because I've heard the whole thing.
For now, let's take this EP. It features 3 tracks that will be on the new album (but not these versions) and a bonus fourth track that won't, the last one being a Brock/Tree composition that will remain exclusive to this release. The first thing you notice is how, for the initial mixes, the tracks sound superb, with the new line-up, featuring Dr Hasbeen main man Martin N, putting in a rock solid delivery, sounding more than ready to take their place as potentially the best space-rock band on the planet Just listen to the opening track for proof of this as the band just launches into space right from the off - synths, electric bass, steaming guitar riffs and drums storming through a song that will be swirling around in your head for ages after with its corking hook-line and Dibs' vocals sounding than ever, and the whole thing sounding like a slice of classic driving Hawkwind, but crisp and fresh. Then, for track 2, they only go and deliver another steaming piece of space-rock, with track 3 even better than that. As Hawkwind-inspired space-rock goes, the compositions rock, yet are kept short, tight and totally cohesive - simply the best set of songs yet delivered by the band and promising much more to come. Finally, the 4th track, 'Blue Skin' - much more of a demo with sound to match but it burns bright, as a fuzzy wall of sound drills a hole through your skull and assaults your senses with the murkiest of mixes but Dibs' bass pounding away as synth swoops pour all over the place, so heavy as to be almost industrial strength. But it is the sheer quality of the first 3 tracks that really make this so essential - thought you knew Spacehead up to now? Think again, because they've taken a major leap into the future with the song-writing on offer here. Oh, and each CD comes individually signed by the band members, as a bonus, but it won't be around once the new album is near, so get it while you can.
SPACEHEAD: Inhalations 1998-2000: Explode Into Space CD£4.99
The second volume of the story that started out previously as the "In Space We Trust" CD album, and now continues as a further audio document of the various band line-ups since that CD, but which is still not yet the official brand new studio album.
So, what is it, then? It's all previously unreleased, most of it studio origin, some of it live, with similar and better sound quality than the previous release. You'll hear over an hour of predominantly space-rock as the Spacehead sound becomes more defined, much of it dominated by the awesome electric bass work care of Mr Dibs, who also handles all the vocals and much of the writing credits. A couple of the songs are quite long with space for some strong and sturdy electric bass and electric guitar work, complete with strong drumming and swooping synth backdrops, while several others are short and snappy affairs that roar through your head. Elsewhere there are instrumentals that feature the synths more prominently but still always in a band context, with one other track featuring a wicked violin solo from Graham Clarke. Overall, the album flows a lot more than the other, with some tracks that'll really blow you away, as the main accent is on power and dynamics. Sometimes the fact that the bass is used as lead almost relegating the guitar to a more rhythm oriented role, will initially sound a mite strange but just stick with it because this is becoming a quite potent brew of space-rock with their own imprint firmly and squarely implanted on it.
For a guy who's been in Krel, occasionally played on stage with Hawkwind and for a band of this level of cult appeal, with more line-up changes than I've had hot dinners, Dibs and Spacehead are really starting to carve a niche in the space-rock genre that gives them a new and unique identity. I've heard the rough mixes of the new studio album proper, and the writing is nothing short of mind-blowing, so, with the "In Space We Trust" album now deleted, and this following suit once the first pressing has sold out, it's time to get into Spacehead, if you haven't already, to avoid missing out when the big one comes along, especially as this is a seriously fine space-rock album.
SPACEHEAD:Of Stars And Time Original EBS label issue CD£8.99
If you're anything of a Hawkwind fan, you must get this album as here at last is a band who have really captured the essence of Hawkwind and have managed top resist all attempts to bring it kicking and screaming into the '90's and have left it firmly in the '70's with all the right ingredients from the sci-fi lyrical imagery to the synths swooping and soaring all over the place, the chugging guitars and some great drumming, plus the Brock-like vocals of Mr Dibs serving only to enhance the effect. The musicianship is excellent and it's just a shame they left the production in the '70's as the sound is a tad murky in the odd part, but don't let that put you off .
SPACEHEAD: In Space We Trust '95-'98
THe return of real space-rock to the UK. For all those that bought the first album, we say 'forget that ever existed' and consider this as the real start to the career of one of the best bands on the planet right now playing real space-rock (you know - the sort of thing that you wish you'd heard on the last couple of Hawkwind albums). This album is a summary of the band's work since the first EBS label album up to the end of '98. As such we hear 3 sides of the band. They open with 4 tracks originally recorded for the "Anasazi" album but now cleaned up and sounding better than ever. Right from the start you will hear music that conjures visions of Calvert's "Capt Lockheed" project with radio samples and a monster bas riff leading in a corking example of real space-rock that is one of the most amazing openers. As part of this first set of tracks, there is a cover of Krel's 'Earth Zero' track that is out of this world and will probably go down as one of the finest tracks that Hawkwind never recorded. It's got all the classic hallmarks that make guitars/ bass/drums/synths-fuelled space-rock the unique music style that it is.
After the "Anasazi" tracks, there follows 6 tracks from the next line-up, featuring ex-Gong musician Graham Clark on guitar and violin, which were recorded on the Hawkwind '97 UK tour and feature Krel's Martin M on synths as guest musician, reuniting the two Krel musicians for the first time since the legendary Hawk-tour of years gone by. The tracks themselves are excellent quality and give the Spacehead machine a new dimension with the addition of the violin work, the whole band flying high throughout. The next track is a smokin' version of what is destined to become a Spacehead classic, 'Where Are They Now'' which is a 'demo' version but no demo has ever sounded this good, as Dibs, Clark and crew scorch through the track. Finally, there is a 'bonus' instrumental studio track to end the album. Dibs, the bassist got a 'thank you' and his picture in the last Hawkwind album "In Your Area", so the credentials are already there. This is a superb album that will be eagerly and warmly greeted by Hawkwind and space-rock fans around the world, and really will be one non-Hawkwind album that you will come to love and play, again and again.
SPACEHEAD: Live Hawkfest 2003 CD£12.99
The irony here, for me, is that this isn't on my Dead Earnest label. Why irony? Because it's the best Spacehead CD to date -in terms of performance, in terms of sound quality - hell, in terms of everything. A document of the concert the band played at the "Hawkfest" in 2003, this features a line-up that is positively breathtaking with ex-Krel members Mr Dibs & Floyd on bass/vocals and synths respectively, plus the dual electric guitar attack of Martyn "Dr" Has been and Keith Barton, all of this propelled by the drum attack of Wob. But if you thought THAT was mind-bending enough in space-rock terms, it doesn't end there - for the last four tracks of the eight track CD, including two sensational cover versions of 'Quark, Strangeness & Charm' plus 'Choose Your Maques', the band are joined by none other than Hawkwind's main man Dave Brock on electric guitar and synths plus ex-Hawkwind synths man Keith "Starfield" Kniveton. Musically, it is just under an hour of scorching, soaring and driving space-rock of epic sounding proportions. Believe me, you've never heard Spacehead sound THIS good, with Dibs' bass work positively nuclear while the synths and guitars take off and never look back - even the vocals are the best I've heard to date. The driving thunder that is the incredibly infectious "Standing On The Edge 3Of Time' will leave you open-mouthed as to its space-rock credentials, as class a track as they come and so, so powerful. The sound quality is mixing desk and much of it has the same feel as vintage '72-'73-era Hawkwind and you can't get much of a higher recommendation than that!! The tracks featuring Brock & Kniveton total around twenty minutes and the sheer energy, enthusiasm and power of these slices of pure, unadulterated space-rock will leave you grinning with glee at what you're hearing. In every way, this is the band's finest statement to date, even eclipsing my Dead Earnest label albums - and you've no idea how much it breaks my heart to have to tell you that - essential.
