Quark, Strangeness and Charm [Bonus CD] [PA]

Performer: Hawkwind
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: QUARK: STRANGENESS AND CHARM contains an 8-song CD and a 150-page book, QUEENS OF DELIRIA, written by Michael Butterworth based on an idea by Michael Moorcock. Hawkwind: Dave Brock, Robert Calvert. Audio Mixer: Ben Wiseman. Recording information: Rockfield Studios, Monmouthshire. Author: Dave Brock. Hot on the heels of two decidedly un-Hawkwind-y singles; following in the footsteps, too, of the defiantly transitory Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music album, Quark Strangeness and Charm was the first full flowering of Hawkwind's newly honed drive towards brittle pop, sharp wit, and crystal-clear intent -- attributes that, if they'd ever existed in the past, had been entirely overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the space rock rocket blast. Now it was the propulsive riffs and deep space echoes that were held in abeyance, and Quark opened as it meant to go on, with "Spirit of the Age"'s tight keyboards, unobtrusive washes, and the utterly captivating -- if totally skewed -- story of love across the light years. It is hard to visualise just how shocking the change must have been to loyal fans of the era; how they must have trembled before the electrifying jolt of concise lyricism and accessible melodies. Airplay followed, and the band even made their first mainstream U.K. TV appearance in some five years, performing the new album's title track on Marc Bolan's teatime TV pop show. Robert Calvert wore an aviator's helmet and carried a stuffed falcon on one hand, odd apparel indeed for an ode to Albert Einstein's lack of luck with the ladies. Or maybe not so odd, after all. A handful of songs fed back into the traditional Hawkwind mythos -- the post-apocalyptic "Damnation Alley," the near-industrial instrumental "Forge of Vulcan," and the weary, dream-is-over nostalgia of "Days of the Underground." "Hassan I Sabha," an epic of Middle Eastern terrorist rhetoric, even recalled the prosaic realities of the old favorite "Urban Guerilla," although a haunting Arabic refrain and instrumentation catapulted it to a different realm regardless. And so it went on -- Hawkwind's most unexpected album to date and, today, one of their most endearingly enduring; charming, strange, and, if not quark, then certainly quirky. ~ Dave Thompson Hot on the heels of two decidedly un-Hawkwind-ish singles; following in the footsteps, too, of the defiantly transitory Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music album, Quark Strangeness and Charm was the first full flowering of Hawkwind's newly-honed drive towards brittle pop, sharp wit, and crystal-clear intent -- attributes that, if they'd ever existed in the past, had been entirely overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the space rock rocket blast. Now it was the propulsive riffs and deep space echoes that were held in abeyance, and Quark opened as it meant to go on, with "Spirit of the Age"'s tight keyboards, unobtrusive washes, and the utterly captivating -- if totally skewed -- story of love across the light years. It is hard to visualize just how shocking the change must have been to loyal fans of the era; how they must have trembled before the electrifying jolt of concise lyricism and accessible melodies. Airplay followed, and the band even made their first mainstream U.K. TV appearance in some five years, performing the new album's title track on Marc Bolan's teatime TV pop show. Robert Calvert wore an aviator's helmet and carried a stuffed falcon on one hand, odd apparel indeed for an ode to Albert Einstein's lack of luck with the ladies. Or maybe not so odd, after all. A handful of songs fed back into the traditional Hawkwind mythos -- the post-apocalyptic "Damnation Alley," the near-industrial instrumental "Forge of Vulcan," and the weary, dream-is-over nostalgia of "Days of the Underground." "Hassan I Sabha," an epic of Middle Eastern terrorist rhetoric, even recalled the prosaic realities of the old favorite "Urban Guerilla," although a haunting Arabic refrain and instrumentation catapulted it to a different realm regardless. And so it went on -- Hawkwind's most unexpected album to date and, today, one of their most endearingly enduring; charming, strange, and, if not quark, then certainly quirky. [The 2009 edition included a bonus CD.] ~ Dave Thompson

Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "QS&C is the pinnacle of lyricist Bob Calvert's astute surveying of contemporary issues..."

Inspired equally by the hippie lifestyle/marathon jamming of the '60s West Coast bands and the interstellar excursions of Pink Floyd, Hawkwind helped invent "space rock" as we know it today. Through countless albums and personnel shifts, they've continued to combine heavy rock with science fiction in a futuristic setting, inspiring a generation of bands and several international space-rock festivals.

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