Disc 1

Reviews

Memos and Demos culls recordings Hawkwind leader Dave Brock made in his home studio sometime in the late 1990s (precise dates are not given). They must be approached as laboratory experiments, although they are fully-developed ideas, not half-cooked tracks. Brock plays guitars, bass, keyboards, drum machines, and sings. All these demos were recorded with Hawkwind in mind and some ended up in the group's repertoire, especially on the 2000 album Spacebrock Kauai, The Right Way here titled Find the Right Way, Do You Want This Body disguised here as Why Is a Raven Like a Writing Desk, and Sex Dreams included in two variations (Surreal Sex Dream and Space Riders and Sex Dreams) sporting the same suggestive female voice sample (Ever thought about having a dream during sex?, she asks). Some versions differ very little from the official studio album, with only a few overdubs from other group members missing, others would be completely reconstructed. The die-hard fan can have a peak at the creation process of the man. Necessarily, anybody else will find this album redundant and in any case you should listen to Spacebrock before this companion. Clouded Vision and Love in Space are two good songs that make things a little more interesting.

François Couture Dave Brock - Memos And Demos

'Memos' can be 'notes' of things to be remembered and to some extent that is true of this album. Literally in the case of the accompanying booklet with its "pin board" collection of images, which will appeal to Hawkwind fans as nostalgia and history. Hawkwind/Dave Brock archaeology as "Where's Wally?" A particular favourite with this reviewer is inside the last page ("Sweet Obsession") including Lemmy and the Ace of Spades. Also within the tracks are the usual Dave Brock music and lyrical cross references to other released material, 'notes' remembered if you like ("Space Riders And Sex Dreams", Track 15 being a classic example) and 7/8 tracks (15 listed) recognisable from a variety of other sources.

'Demos' is perhaps semantically accurate, and the promotional material states these are "Never before released solo material" intended for Hawkwind. Accurate to a point but essentially we have an exciting range of Dave Brock tracks some of which Hawkfans already know or will recognise (from "Earthed To The Ground", "Distant Horizons", "Spacebrock" and "In Your Area") and some that are 'new' all performed, produced and written by Dave with the attention to his craft that is a trademark.

What's in it for the newcomer? Well it's a surreal sound collage that touches on and crosses a variety of musical labels, rock, trance, space and psych arguably best demonstrated in the albums last three tracks, the standout "Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?" (an alternative version being "Do You Want This Body" on "Spacebrock" but that key sample is missing), "Space Riders And Sex Dreams", and "Distant Islands". "Space Riders" as mentioned above being a fabulous collage of Dave Brock sound touches/signatures/autographs some old and some new. Memos and Demos is stuffed full of such subtleties. "Distant Islands" finishing the album with a combination of lounge 'chill out', sampled chants and voices, Hawkwind space swirls and drums from the 'Easy Listening' section.

The album opens with "Clouded Vision" (a version also available on "Distant Horizons") an eco/political 'dirge' before the musically more upbeat "State Of Mind (Inst)" swirling climbing keyboards over driving guitar riffs into "State of Mind (vocal)" with the lyric "I'm a digital citizen" echoed in the musical treatment. "Tune-ing In" does just that on several occasions, one tune to the next and back again but to a different place. "Kauai" is a lovely and familiar ("Distant Horizons" and others) lyrical instrumental washing wave like over a couple of minutes before the drum patterns that introduce us to the Greek god of sleep, "Morpheus" and dreams a regular Dave Brock subject reference but not a classic in this case. We "Find The Right Way" ("The Right Way" on Spacebrock") and "Didn't Have A Problem" which references "Treadmill" and the eco theme but at risk of upsetting fans doesn't seem to go anywhere, 'hey what's on the radio' before "Luna" a eulogy to a close animal friend which from biographical cross referencing must be a horse. "Love in Space" is a recent regular but this version has a little surprise in the tail. "Surreal Sex Dreams" (on Spacebrock as "Sex Dreams") contains the life-changing lyric "ever thought about having a dream during sex? And how surreal it was" It's done my head in! "Just Drifting" is a little instrumental gem and "Sweet Obsession" being very different from its original appearance on "Earthed To The Ground" (Dave Brock solo album) almost unrecognisable.

Give it a try, the journey is very interesting!

Phil Sawdon

Founder and backbone of Hawkwind throughout their cosmos-spanning existence over the last thirty-plus years, Dave Brock presents 71 minutes of solo material on this 2001 release.

Do not be deceived by this release's title, however. This music is far from "demo" quality, and the tracks are hardly abbreviated and crude "memos". Handling all the instrumentation himself (except for organ on a single song), Brock delivers a decent approximation of the full-Hawkwind sound with this selection. His guitar pyrotechnics and synthesizer assaults are stunning and relentless, whether the tuneage is exploring psychedelic weirdness or surgingly brutal rock. There are frequent incidences of trance colliding with jungle to emerge dripping with powerhouse sensibilities. While not every song achieves stellar proportions, the music is still rigorously satisfying. The CD hits a fiery plateau during its later half with unbelievable crescendos that endure forever and memorably incandescent riffs that will make the listener's cranium bulge with awe.

If everyone's "demos" were this slick, there'd be no need for expensive recording studios.