Artist ....... space ritual
Album ........ satiricon
Genre ........ psychedelic rock
Source ....... dvd(pcm stereo)
Label ........ ents.tv
Catalog Nr. .. ents.dvd.011
Release Date . apr-08-2009
Tracks ....... 18
Length ....... 136:21 min
Quality ...... VBRkbps 44,1kHz
Mode ......... joint-stereo
Encoder ...... lame
Size ......... 202,5 MB
Link ......... http://www.spaceritual.org/dvd.html
Rls Notes
Recorded at The Buttermarket in Shrewsbury on
29:02:04
Hawkwind's original 'Space Ritual' concept
was the defining moment in Spacerock history,
immortalized on a classic double album that
remains as the pinnacle of the genre. This
modern performance of classic Spacerock by
the band Space Ritual could almost be
considered it's audio-visual equivalent, the
DVD that Hawkwind never made. From an
introductory countdown through to Nik's solo
sax rendition of the 'Inspector Clouseau
Theme' over end credits, the band take us on
a spectacular journey unequalled in modern
times.
At the core of Space Ritual is a bunch of
ex-Hawkwind members who have, at one time or
another, fallen out with the mother band but
who like playing together. They all appear to
be having a blast and perhaps as a result put
in sterling performances. Nik Turner is a
familiar frontman, eccentric as always;
Anderson prowls the back of the stage on
bedrock bass; Terry Ollis is a blur of
flailing arms and sweat; Sam Ollis helps his
dad on the bigger numbers, but otherwise
provides ineffective scratching on decks;
Greves does an excellent job as 'sound
manipulator' in place of Del Dettmar who
couldn't make the gig; Slattery is probably
not the absolute best guitarist in the world
but he is perfect for this setting; and
Windmill's vocal contribution adds a new
dimension to the sound. Good musicians one
and all, but together they are simply awesome
- as all good bands should be, Space Ritual
is better than the sum of its parts.
The sound is universally excellent - punchy,
detailed and well mixed with just a hint of
an earth buzz a couple of times but nothing
serious. The only slight criticism I might
venture would be that Crimble's backing
vocals are sometimes near inaudible, but I am
really scraping the barrel here. The visuals
too are stunning - well recorded by a
multi-camera outfit, and the editors have
done an excellent job to mould the various
elements into a hugely entertaining DVD. Live
action is accompanied by filmed psychedlic
sequences, most of which are being shown on
the big screen at the back of the stage
behind the performers. These are sometimes
superimposed over the live action, only
occasionally replacing it.
The cameras never really pan out to see the
whole stage, but it would appear to be quite
small and compact, as is the audience. The
central section, backed by the big screen, is
reserved for a pair of female dancers who
inevitably form a focal point. While Angel is
photogenic and inventive, Debespace is less
mobile or imaginative yet has attributes that
some viewers will appreciate. Generally, the
girls do a good job and are a definite
benefit to the production.
Negatives? Minor nit-picking only: some of
Debespace's dancing is an acquired taste;
there is virtually no audience ambience until
near the end; once or twice Nik's timing is a
little out; and in the final verse of 'Master
Of The Universe' Nik rather loses the plot.
Generally, the performances range from
stunningly-brilliant ['Brainstorm'] to merely
very-good ['Jazzy Jam'] with most falling
near the upper end of the range. Of course,
it isn't a re-creation of the old 'Space
Ritual', but the sound these guys make, and
the way they conduct themselves, is modelled
on those heady days of the early 1970s and
nobody has done it this good for 30 years and
more.
Highlights? 'Brainstorm', probably the
ultimate piledriver Spacerock riff ever
written, is as near to Spacerock perfection
as anything is ever likely to get these days.
A slow psych lead-in builds anticipation
until the riff lets go and we're off into an
almost perfect mind-numbing wall-of-sound
complete with Slattery's wah-wah guitar and a
crazed sax solo from Nik. When it ends, you
just want to play it again, and again ....
'Master Of The Universe' is the other classic
riff, and this too is a stunningly powerful
rendition, despite Nik's dodgy last verse,
complete with suitably potty vocals and
superb solos from Slattery and Turner.
But it isn't all power riffing. 'Cosmic
Chant', one of the few new compositions, is a
superbly hypnotic 'tribal chant' with
pounding drums, a wash of sound textures and
repeated vocal phrases from all three singers
that together create a hugely atmospheric
opening to the show. Old favourites 'D.
Rider' and 'Children Of The Sun' are further
examples of songs where sheer power is
sacrificed for subtlety and variation, this
time in the form of flute. Each of these
could equally be considered masterpieces.
All things considered this DVD ought to be a
piece of Spacerock history, a masterpiece
that really does recreate the vibe of those
far-off days while at the same time sounding
fresh. Of course it has a flaw or two, but
none detract from a viewers enjoyment of a
magnificent film. It is such a joy seeing
these chaps once more playing the music they
were born to play, and doing it really well.
Hugely recommended!
Review taken from
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=14902
-------------------------------
# track length
01 launch 02:53
02 cosmic chant 07:07
03 born to go 07:52
04 welcome to the future 04:37
05 watching the grass grow 08:11
06 sonic savages 06:46
07 d rider 12:42
08 time crime 05:51
09 children of the sun 08:19
10 jazzy jam 07:24
11 brainstorm 10:29
12 orgone accumulator 07:02
13 sonic attack 05:26
14 ejection 11:24
15 you shouldn't do that 09:16
16 master of the universe 10:22
17 silver machine 09:05
18 inspector clouseau theme 01:35