Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Psi Power
2. Free Fall
3. Automoton
4. 25 Years
5. Flying Doctor
6. The Only Ones
7. (Only) The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid
8. The Age Of The Micro Man
9. Psi Power (Single Version)[Bonus Tracks]
10. Death Trap (Single Mix)[Bonus Tracks]
11. 25 Years (Single Mix)[Bonus Tracks]

Disc 2:

1. Over The Top
2. Magnu
3. Angels Of Life
4. Free Fall
5. Death Trap
6. The Only Ones (Acoustic Demo)
7. (Only) The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid (Demo)
8. Flying Doctor (Live Studio Rehearsal)
9. 25 Years (Take 1)
10. Assassination
11. Freefall (Take Two)
12. (Only) The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid (Take Two)
13. The Age Of The Microman (Take One)
14. Automoton (Full Version)
15. Digger Jam

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6006 in Music
• Released on: 2009-01-26
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

A key re-issue that is a "must have" for Hawkwind fans
The Hawklords's "25 Years On" represents a key moment in the history of Hawkwind and as such is a "must have" for keen fans of the band.

The Hawklords were formed in 1978 by Dave Brock joining what remained of Hawkwind after a series of departures from the band with musicians from the west country band Ark, amongst them Harvey Bainbridge.

"25 Years On" was to be their only album before Hawkwind once again took flight but many fans of the band,including me, see this as a Hawkwind album in itself.

My feelings about the album itself are the same as they were when I bought the original LP all those years ago: it's not a bad album, but it's not brilliant. Certainly the music by itself does not justify the 5-stars that fans, including myself, have been allocating (it's a 4-star album). The soundscape is lighter than that of most incarnations of Hawkwind but does have the band's recognisable trademark sound colours. It's nearer the "Amazing Sounds" and "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" soundscapes than it is the hard driving, thunping basss space-rock of Lemmy's period.

The 5-stars are justified on the basis of the joy that the music is available again, that the remastering work has been carried out well and the sound is first-class and, perhaps more importantly, that Esoteric have added huge amounts of historical bonus material, including both live performances and different studio versions of the songs, so much so that what was a fortyish minute LP has now become a 2-CD set!

In terms of the original album itself my favourite tracks haven't changed over the years: he opener "PSI Power" edges it as my absolute favourite, with "Freefall", "25 Years On" and "The Age of the Micro Man" not far behind.

Of the bonus material, the pick goes to the first five tracks of the second disc which are a recording of the band appearing under the name of the Sonic Assassins in 1977.

This is a key purchase for all Hawkwind fans!

Dead Dreams and Automotons.
Finally, Bob Calverts important contribution to the Hawkwind story is being given a timely reappraisal, and in turn showing what a sad loss to British music his untimely death has been.

By 1978, Hawkwind were in some disarray, but out of this confusion rose his fine new wave influenced project, that enabled Dave Brock, and the sadly missed Bob Calvert the chance to move away from the hippy-ish space themes of the early seventies. Instead, producing a stripped down and focused record, whose songs reflected its surroundings far more effectively than any of Brock and Calverts earlier collaborations. With darker themes of psychic power, Cold War alienation, and industrial, rather than spiritual, progress, 25 Years On tapped into some of the new musical pathways being explored by Magazine, XTC, Devo, and even Brian Eno in the late seventies. Consequently, 25 Years On, perhaps more than any other Hawkwind related musical project, before or since, has aged particularly well since its initial release in 1978.

Disc 1 ; This now has a fine, sympathetic remastering, that has enabled many background instruments to find their own space within the mix. Opener, Psi Power, now really has an impact to match its subject matter, whilst tracks like 25 years, Flying Doctor, and stand out track, [Only] The Dead Dreams of a Cold War Kid sound full and menacing. Added bonuses on disc one include the single [ remixed ] version of Psi Power [ which shows how badly the song was butchered for a single release], and the single version of 25 Years.

Disc 2 ; The second disc, however is a real tresure trove of demos, alternate takes, and some very rare live recordings of the Sonic Assassins, who were in effect the Hawklords in all but name before the album project came into fruition.The highlights are the demos that were the skeletons of the final album tracks.Im also quite fond of the full extended take of Automoton which doubles the length of the album version

There is plenty in this superb package to tempt any fan of this album[ or even the many curious].Mention should also be made of the fine booklet and helpful notes [including full re use of the 1978 tour programme as part of the art work],that accompanies this release.

Hawkwind re-issue series gets off to an impressive start
Part of the first batch of re-releases for Hawkwinds back catalogue dating from 1976 to the early 90's. Having left United Artists after "Warrior on the Edge of Time", Hawkwind went through a sort of renaissance when signed with Charisma who they recorded four studio albums for. This, the forth was recorded under the banner Hawklords as there was a dispute at the time over ownership of the Hawkwind name. The resulting album was still typical Hawkwind though, maybe with less of a space rock bent and more new wave as evidenced by the Barney Bubbles black and white cover art.

Leading the band through the Charisma years was vocalist/lyricist Robert Calvert who was at the peak of his creativity co-writing such great songs such as "Psi Power", "Free Fall" and "The Only Ones".

This re-issue, released on the new label imprint Atomhenge, is a 2CD deluxe edition. There are 3 bonus tracks on the first CD,which includes the original album, with the second CD featuring 5 live tracks recorded by The Sonic Assassins and 10 demo tracks and album outtakes. Everything has been remastered and sounds clean and sharp. The booklet has notes by Mark Powell and a reproduction of the Hawklords tour programme. The whole package is housed in a cardboard slip-case making this a truly deluxe edition.

This is an impressive start to the re-issue of Hawkwinds back catalogue and full marks to the Esoteric Label team for their work in restoring these recordings and producing such a high quality archival release.