MARTIN STEPHENSON PODCASTS

Whilst pootling about on the Internet this morning I found these:
http://www.martinstephenson.me.uk/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html

Star & Cafe of tiny kindnesses
Here are some previews of two very different albums, Daintees new album
‘California Star’ and also the very unusual....

‘Cafe of tiny kindnesses’ Martin & Helen’s follow up to the beautiful ‘Hamilton Square’ 2009! You couldn’t get two albums more different, but the songwriting is very strong along with the recording, all these recordings are truly independent releases

Contact Paul Keveney: spanish_paul_safc@yahoo.co.uk

RICK WAKEMAN IN THE '80S

I am currently putting the final touches to a reissue of Dan Wooding's smashing biography of Rick Wakeman. It covers his life and doings in the 1970s in massive detail. It is a great book, and furthermore onee that I have enjoyed working on, bevause not only is Dan a really nice guy, but his book is interesting and has dozens of really rare pictures.

But what happened next? Purely by chance I found this site with an overview of Rick's work - album by album - during the 1980s, and I thought that it was so interesting that I should share it..

http://gary-hill.suite101.com/rick-wakeman-album-by-album-overview-1981-1984-a405559

GONZO ON FACEBOOK

I don't understand Facebook. In fact, I think that it would be true to describe me as a hidebound old git, because I don't understand any of this modern social networking stuff. But, largely through the efforts of the lovely Emma Osborne (who does all this social networking stuff for me) Gonzo Multimedia have got a flourishing Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=624686569&ref=profile#!/groups/287744711294595/

There is also a less flourishing Facebook fan page, and I would be very grateful if you guys out there in bloggoland could go there and click the 'like' button...

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=624686569&ref=profile#!/pages/Gonzo-Multimedia/304756449589666

JUDGE SMITH: excerpts from Orfeas

I know that I keep banging on about it, but its my blog and I'll bang if I want to. Judge Smith's extraordinary new album Orfeas really is worth investigating. One of the things that I am most looking forward to when I finally get my recording set up finished next week is talking to him about it...

JON ANDERSON PAYS TRIBUTE TO DONOVAN

Donovan Week Continues With Tribute From Jon Anderson of "YES".: MyFoxLA.com

SPOOKY TOOTH: A Fantastic band

I blush to admit that although I had been vaguely aware of Spooky Tooth and had heard a few tracks here and there, I didn't really know anything much about them. The one thing that I did know was that organist Gary Wright was a good friend of the late George Harrison, and played on a number of his albums. So I was particularly interested to get the latest installment of the 'Lost Broadcast' series on Gonzo, which features the band.

Now I am a huge fan of the 'quiet Beatle' and have always rather meant to check out Gary Wright. Over the years I have found some great music, just from checking out the sidesmen on various albums by ex-Beatles. One of the best was Lon and Derek Van Eaton who are massively good and even more massively obscure and whom I probably shouldn't eulogise about too much because they have no records out on Gonzo.

I can see why Gary Wright was George Harrison's keyboard player of choice, but I was particularly impressed by the ensemble playing of the band themselves. The interplay between two different keyboards (always something that impresses me) with completely disparate textures, gave it an unexpectedly funky edge, and the whole thing sounded like an English analogue of The Band which as this is a clip of them singing 'The Weight' in November 1968 (the song originally appeared on The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' earlier that year) is quite a convenient analogy:

MARKIN BIRKE/GENRE PEAK LINK

Martin began playing and recording with the electro-jazz quartet THWACK back in the late 80s. The group consisted of Martin on electronic drums and keyboards, Daniel Panasenko on guitars and MIDI-guitars, Chuck Ehlis on fretless bass and Arthur Chivis on alto and tenor saxophones. The group explored complex rhythm and melody based compositions and played around Sacramento and San Francisco clubs. After a painful bout of tendonitis , Martin was forced to give up the traditional drum kit and ventured into songwriting and electronic percussion and keyboard programming , he also started developing his vocal techniques .

He was first published on the Music Independantâs compilation Vol. 2 in 1991 with a track titled Îcomplacency devours usâ, an industrial jazz track that also garnered the attention of Ladd- Frith Records and he soon hooked up with Aaron Kinney at PAS-Key Productions to record the trackâBlack Landâ which featured Cake's Vince Difiore on trumpet and was released on the labelâs Î4 by 4â compilation CD in late Î91.

Read on...

LAUNCHING OUR NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL

FINALLY! After four horribly frustrating days, during which my broadband was so slow that it was practically moribund, I am back to something approaching functionality. So to celebrate this, we have launched our new YouTube Channel wchich - as of today - will bring you exclusive content that you won't find anywhere else on the net. It will also being you selected audio tracks, because although a picture apparently is worth 1,000 words, if - like me - you are a tired old music journo hack, it is sometimes worth just putting up a track to listen to rather than trying to describe the music in my inimitable deathless prose.

We have also made another technical breakthrough, and are now able to record telephone calls (or rather we will be when our new battery-operated hard disk recorder arrives next week. We brought a handy lead which plugs into the telephone line, but we couldn't get the damn thing to work. Eventually we found that for some reason which totally eludes us, it won't work if you are trying to record stuff on a device that is plugged into the mains, which as we were trying to record straight on to the office computer, was a bit of a pain. (If anyone can explain why and how this is the case in words of one syllable I would be very grateful).

The only technical problem left (apart from the fact that I have just broken my favourite microphone) is that there is a foreign body stuck behind my office PC. The foreign body in question

So - hopefully - belongs to an elderly, affectionate and ever-so-slightly stupid ginger cat called 'Spider'. But that is an ongoing problem with which I have to deal every day!

GENRE PEAK REVIEWED

Martin Birke's ongoing international recording project Genre Peak is releasing a new album titled "Redux" (check the sounds here or after the jump). The album is released by UK label Gonzo Multi Media and will be in stores March 20th. This electronica album features new and remixed tracks from the band's current albums along with featured musicians and vocalists such as the late Mick Karn, singer Percy Howard (Bill Laswell), violinist Benito Cortez, Canadian singer Tara C. Taylor and several other noted players.

Birke is well known for scoring original music for "The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre", recording and touring internationally with Sandbox Trio, Casualty Park, Genre Peak and most recently with Percy Howard (Meridiem,Bill Laswell) in the duo Hardboiled Wonderland. Genre Peak has released 2 full-length albums "Ends of the Earth" (2006 in-code Music) and "Preternatural" (2008 in-code Music).

Read on...

RICK WAKEMAN GETS EVERYWHERE AT THE MOMENT

If you're looking for a quick way to save money, it seems that Rick Wakeman may have discovered the answer: move abroad. You'd be surprised at how everything from clothing to holidays are significantly cheaper across the pond - meaning us Brits get a bad deal. Our resident grump Rick has been investigating further...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2012/03/ricks_rants_brits_raw_deal.html

RICK WAKEMAN: Entertaining interview in Welsh newspaper

SOMETIMES, regardless of how good you are, it comes down to who you know. There are also rare occasions when skills don’t matter at all. Rick Wakeman, the prog-rock keyboard maestro turned Grumpy Old Man, knows this.

Beyond playing with Yes – with near-50 million album sales – plus penning musicals, he has proved a skilled raconteur on tour, at comedy club Jongleurs and TV’s Countdown.

Read on..

MIMI PAGE: Love will tear her apart...

I am often accused of taking rock music far too seriously. I know that it is something of which I am guilty now and again, but there you go. It has been an important part of my life since I was 12, and that was 40 years ago. There are certain truisms by which I have lived my life over those intervening decades, and one of them - ever since my mate Kelvin first played me Joy Division during the long wet summer of 1981 - is that no-one can cover Love Will Tear us Apart. There is a long and unimpressive tradition of attempted cover versions over the years. One of the most peculiar is a vaguely bossa-nova rendition by The Brazilian Lounge Project, and one of the best is a dead straight version by June Tabor with The Oyster Band. But none of them are a patch on the original.

Even I have had a pop at it with my ensemble Jon Downes and the Amphibians from Outer Space back in 1993, although our version of another Joy Division song 'They Walked in Line' was much better (and much nastier).

And now Mimi Page has done it, and I have to say that it is one of the best versions that I have heard. She really is a massively talented young lady. I am currently working my way through her new album Breathe me in, and trying not to use the overused music-joourno term 'songstrel', which implies Kylie rather than Kate, and Rihanna rather than Polly Jean.

Check it out lads and lasses:

NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED.................................EVENTUALLY

The Bloke at BT confirmed that there is something wrong with our telephone line, and launched 'stabilising procedures`. He warned that it might take several days to get back to normal. So at the moment our broadband is obscenely slow, and so our blogging activities are not as efficient as usual...

REMEMBERING THE LATE MICK KARN

The other night, Corinna, Prudence and I were listening to the rather fab new album by Genre Peak. "Gosh" I said, "the bass playing sounds just like the late Mick Karn". Then I looked at the press release - the late Mick Karn, who was one of the pivotal members of Japan and - incidentally - one of my favourite bass players, does indeed appear on the album.

I then got all maudlin. Mick Karn died of cancer last year, and I never thought I would hear something new by him again. The fact that I did, depressed me when it should have done otherwise. He was an amazing musician, and will be sadly missed.

Electronica-Trance Band GENRE PEAK Releases New Album ʻREDUXʼ

Electronica-Trance Band GENRE PEAK Releases New Album ʻREDUXʼ
Featuring Legendary Mick Karn

3/28/2012 - Sacramento, CA - Genre Peak is the music and collaborations of electronic percussionist/ composer/ producer Martin Birke. Birke is well known for scoring original music for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, recording and touring internationally with Sandbox Trio, Casualty Park, Genre Peak and most recently with Percy Howard(Meridiem, Bill Laswell) in the duo Hardboiled Wonderland. Genre Peak has released 2 full-length albums Ends of the Earth (2006 in-code Music) and Preternatural (2008 in-code Music). Starting in 2006 as a trio with Martin Birke on vocals and electronics, Daniel Panasenko on Chapman Stick and Stephen Sullivan on guitar-synths and vocals. The trio performed as an electronic rock band around Northern California cities until the departure of Panasenko in late 2006. In 2008 Birke returned to the studio with co-producer/engineer/guitarist Christopher Scott Cooper and decided in recruiting a unique cast of vocalists and musicians consisting of Canadian singer Tara C. Taylor, Japan/Dalis Car bassist Mick Karn, bassist Gustaf Fjelstrom, French rock & electronic composer/remixer Tristan X (Kiss & Fly) and Spanish electronic composer/remixer Alex Brujas. The end result was Genre Peakʼs most vital album to date 'Preternatural'. The songs featured heavier electronics, darker moods, and percussion effects offset with Karn and Fjelstromʼs fretless basslines, Taylorʼs lilting vocals and Cooperʼs high quality production making an album that was very well received by music media and fans around the world.

“ 'Ends of the Earth' reflects the post-postmodern sound of Genre Peak - detached, cool, minimalist and wired.” -West Coast Performer

“Genre Peak has seriously evolved with the new album 'Preternatural', a very coherent and intelligent release. The mix of ambient components and low tempo rhythms has been well executed.” - SIDE-LINE Magazine

“Genre Peak's 'Preternatural' is an interesting and entertaining mix of electronica and alternative. The synthesizers are great and so is the percussion.” - The Celebrity Cafe

The new Genre Peak album 'Redux' is released by Gonzo Multimedia International and features the best songs from both previous albums and includes 2 new songs featuring the vocals of Percy Howard, the track "Words Surround Us" also feature violins by Benito Cortez and ʻBlue Filter (PH mix)ʼ sets a melacholic tone with complex percussion, dark synths and the vocal pairing of Percy Howard & Tara C. Taylor. Martin Birkeʼs dark and complex writing style with Christopher Scott Cooperʼs production makes for a modern and distinct listening experience not be missed.


For videos,news and downloads go to the official Genre Peak website, Soundcloud and Facebook: http://www.genrepeak.net/
http://soundcloud.com/genre-peak
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Genre-Peak/201477959917772


To purchase Genre Peak 'Redux' http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15414

JON ANDERSON TALKS ABOUT `YES`

There is a video here with a revealing interview with the man himself. Unfortunately, with my Internet playing silly beggars I can't work out how to embed it. I am afraid that you are going to have to follow the link below. But it's worth it...

 
To most music fans, Jon Anderson‘s voice is synonymous with the music of Yes (even though he’s quit the band twice, and 1980′s Drama was recorded with a different singer). So it was a surprise when Yes announced that they were going on tour in 2008 without Anderson.


Read on...

TROY DONOCKLEY REVIEW

http://www.progwereld.org/cms/recensies/album/troy-donockley-messages/

 

Flutist and Uillean Pipes-performer Troy Donockley is the prog audience best known for its previous employer Iona, but the best man has also played in Mostly Autumn, Magenta, Clannad, The Enid, Midge Ure and recently even in Nightwish. In addition, he uses his spare time for the delivery of truly great solo albums. Of these, three from now - all masterpieces - and "Messages" is one of a collector with two new tracks.

For those familiar with Donockley's solo career, "Messages" a bit redundant.

Not for nothing but the subtitle reads "a collection of music 1998 - 2011" and as "crash course" should "Messages" is certainly his goal. In addition, the record two new tracks, which mainly Dunmail Rising an impressive number. Although we Progwereld averse to commerce is a good time to point out that "Messages" dirt cheap on Donockley's site is offered for a price at which it sends.

Anyway, the choice Donockley for this introduction is made, is exemplary. Especially "The Madness Of Crowds" comes with two long tracks as well. Thus, the succession by Barbara Dickson and Joanna Hogg sung Now, Voyager is a temporary peak. Very beautiful is the poem of Walt Whitman that line by line, twenty people will be nominated. Donockley not only the right choices, the sequence is exemplary. For people who are unfamiliar with Donockley's work (and there are enough), will be "Messages" should feel like a new CD, as well arranges the material successively.

Donockley Troy is best known for playing the Uillean Pipes, Irish bagpipes. Very official may call you that no bagpipes, because that name is destined for the Scottish bagpipes, you played with the mouth. Donockley will therefore not easily get short of breath because the Uillean Pipes play with your hands, where air is being pumped up with your elbows. Now this is a very nice Irish bagpipe, but often predominant instrument. Therefore it is more interesting to observe that Donockley in his career, the instrument gives a prominent place, but it also knows well dosed.

In the piece Sibelius Finlandia , but also in the new From Him Who Will Never Return , he gives his main instrument, the Uillean Pipes, all space. On the other side of the spectrum there are songs like the eleven minute Orkahaugr , where the instrument but sporadically. It is this variety and this dose causes Donockley not only important as a specialist in music, but also as a composer.

The collector is more than 70 minutes at the end many beautiful things. So sings Donockley with Joanna Hogg's stunning Pursuit Of Illusion , of the eponymous album from 2003. You must be of stone if you have no lump in your throat. For nearly ten minutes after Tunnels before you choose to get the debut of "The Unseen Stream" from 1998, of which especially the end piece is impressive.

"Messages" as an introduction makes especially clear how much the music of Troy Donockley is undervalued and ignored. This is your chance to catch up. For the rest we naturally yearn for a real new studio CD. Let's hope that "Messages" as the prelude for it.

Markwin Meeuws

YESTERDAY WAS WHAT IS VULGARLY CALLED A COCK UP!

Back in 2005 or so then British Prime Minister, the universally appreciated and adored Tony Blair (what a nice man he was, golly) launched some sort of vote-winning exercise when he announced that any community in the UK who could get enough names on a petition could get broadband. Gosh, what a nice altruistic fellow he was.

The teensy weensy North Devon village of Woolfardisworthy from whence the Gonzo Daily editorial team conduct their world-beating activities (Graham, Corinna and I live in a tumbledown 200 year old cottage there) was one of the aforementioned communities. Unfortunately, as far as we can ascertain, no-one did much to upgrade the 1970s era telephone lines. (If we are impugning that nice Mr Blair here, we apologise, but we are sure that he will forgive us. Not only is he such a nice man, but we are sure that no-one ever criticises him) but as a result our broadband service is not as good as that in most of the rest of the United Kingdom.

Yesterday it didn't work at all for most of the time, and when it did it was (as we said yesterday) a three toed sloth with a depressive illness, or like a geriatric tortoise on tuinal. Therefore, there wasn't more than a skeletal series of posts on this esteemed blog. Sorry guys.

It seems that we are back on full strength today, but if the coverage is patchy ever again you know who to blame!

JUDGE SMITH: Orfeas lauded en Francais

So it seems that we are not the only people to be massively impressed by Judge Smith's Orfeas album. The following review is from a French wesbite, and is translated by those jolly nice people at Google. We are posting it for several reasons, not the least because the sentiments expressed are very similar to our own; like us he was someone that they had vaguely heard of, and like us the release of Orfeas has turned them into a true fan...

Rating: 7.5/10
His name sounds perhaps like a distant echo in the memory of some. Judge Smith is indeed the co-founder of Van der Graaf Generator with Peter Hammill , although it has left the adventure start 1969 before recording the first 33 laps of this group. Occupied by various musical projects, from design stage performances to composing for other artists, creating an opera of modern music in a TV series and even a film, Judge Smith expects 1991 to produce his first album, a collection of songs written between 1968 and 1977 ("Democrazy") and 1993 for his first original album is finally born ("Dome Of Discovery").

In the 2000s, he moves up a gear than seven CDs released since, one of which, "Curly's Airship", he says is the most ambitious rock album ever produced to date. "Curly's Airship" is also the first Songstory , name that gives a narrative form of music he loves and whose "Orfeas" is the third avatar. The man is complex and analysis of his music proves it. Indeed, "Orfeas" is certainly an ambitious and complex concept. Beyond the argument (revisiting the myth of Orpheus by modernizing, becoming a rock guitarist Orpheus and Eurydice idolized his muse that he will eventually), it is especially the bias of the composition s 'is original. Judge Smith has decided to register by September formations of different musical styles, each being associated with a training style.

We discover, therefore, in order of appearance on the disc, a Greek bard singing so hard on bombastic guitar arpeggios Hispanic, the Orfeas Band, rock band, Judge Smith using his technique of speech music on the soliloquies of Orfeas , a technique also used in interviews complimented with a string sextet, techno music to symbolize the passage from dream to reality of the heroes of classic opera songs way between Orpheas and Eurydice, played by Lene Lovich and finally a group of metal for the tragic end of the story. If the bard who plays the role of narrator is amusing at best, annoying at worst, the string sextet mixing romantic and contemporary music and that there is not much to say about the passages techno and metal very marked in their respective genres, back on the other three sets. Orfeas The Band plays instrumental rock classic, even if an instrument is an accordion relatively discreet. It serves mainly as a backdrop to the two soloists are impeccable as John Ellis and David Jackson . John Ellis (the "hands of Orfeas") treats us gratifying guitar solos and removed. David Jackson shines for her many saxophone in However, a register wiser than he who was in his VDGG . The duets between Judge Smith and Lene Lovitch resemble vocal improvisations: no guidelines really emerges from these "songs", this is a conversation where protagonists are expressed in these notes as in musicals where the music follows the text and not the other.

Finally the six soliloquies and two interviews using an original technique called speech music whereby every inflection of the voice is converted into its equivalent music. The "score" is then created and played by an instrument whose sound is superimposed on the voice, generating an echo phenomenon, all served on a discreet orchestration. The effect is pretty amazing and made ​​the soliloquies are sufficiently short that the surprise did not turn into annoyance. All these styles are intertwined in the album, giving a report to the staff and less chaotic. Unnecessary to consider what was coming off the lot titles, "Orfeas" is an indivisible whole that we appreciate as a whole or rejected as totally.

But creativity, inventiveness, attention to detail, the factual quality of the interpretation are undeniable. All sprinkled with a healthy dose of humor. As for assessing the results, it's just a matter of personal taste.

HAWKWIND: In the news

With yesterday's news that BBC DJ Stuart Maconie played three tracks from Doremi Fasol Latido it seems that the fathers of Space Rock are on everyone's lips today. Well, sadly that is a little bit of hyperbole (wot? hyperbole on this blog? NEVAH!) but there does seem to be more Hawkwind news and comment about on the net than ever at the moment. Just a quick gander at today's Google News Alerts reveals the following items:

Watch JEFF the Brotherhood Cover Hawkwind's 'Master of the Universe'
By D. Patrick Rodgers
When we told you that fraternal, Nashvillian psych-garage duo JEFF the Brotherhood was slated to open some dates for queen of cat-loving, boy-crazy sunshine pop,...Nashville Scene
www.nashvillescene.com/.../watch-jeff-the-brotherhood-cover...

Hawkwind to rock carlisle - Carlisle United FC forum from footymad.net
hawkwind to rock carlisle. Carlisle United message board and forum from footymad.net. 31st may at last some good live music.
boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=121&fid=18...1...

Hawkwind return to Dublin
It's the return to Ireland of the legendary Hawkwind! Having been out on tour promoting their latest piece of work Onward, and marking their 40th anniversary.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.goldenplec.com/news/hawkwind-return-to-dublin/&ct=ga&cad=CAcQAhgAIAEoBDAAOABAianG-wRIA1gAYgVlbi1VUw&cd=eU7GAaaVo2A&usg=AFQjCNHtBOjsJs2O3NkNXakqZgJUdNVWZQ

EVERYTHING IS SLOW TODAY

OUR BROADBAND VEERS BETWEEN NON-EXISTENT AND THE SPEED OF A THREE TOED SLOTH WITH A DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS AND A SEVERE LACK OF MOTIVATION. THE BLOGS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE TODAY IS HELD UP AS A RESULT OF THIS. SORRY...

WALLY: Someone else likes them as much as I do

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/reviewwally.htm

Wally – Montpellier
Gonzo Multimedia
www.wallymusic.co.uk
Rating: B

Wally originated in England in the early 1970’s. In 1974, they released their debut album, which, interestingly was recorded at Morgan Recording Studios, the same place that Black Sabbath and Yes had recorded. The album was co-produced by Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

The album ended up being one of those releases that was heralded by musicians but failed to capture the ears of the general public.

The band went their separate ways for thirty years but then, unexpectedly, in 2009 they reunited. Led by original members Roy Webber, Paul Middleton, Pete Sage, Roger Narraway and Nick Glennie-Smith, the band added Frank Mizen on pedal steel and Will Jackson on guitar.

The band sold out a gig in their hometown and recorded a DVD of the show. They discovered they still had the spark and went back into the studio.

Montpellier is part Wally, part Pink Floyd and part Grateful Dead. These diverse styles lead to one heck of an enjoyable listening experience. From the opening track of “Sailor” to the final notes of the emotional “Giving” Wally proves they were a great band who deserved much more than the business of music gave them.

This is a band, and a release, that is ripe for the picking by those ultimate Rock Nerds who search for every interesting note ever played. In Wally, they will find a treasure trove.

By Jeb Wright

ESPECIALLY FOR DAVE MCMANN

ROBERT CALVERT: Starfarer's praise

Graham Inglis and I have been mates for over twenty years, and for the last seven he has been sharing my house in rural North Devon. He is a mega-Hawkind fan, and when I first started to work for Gonzo Multimedia, and my first job was to prepare a new edition of Robert Calvert's book of poetry Centigrade 232, one of the first things that I did was to ask for his aid. We worked hard on the new edition, and it was published last month.

Apparently one of the major reviewing dudes in Hawkwindland is a chap called 'Steve Starfarer' who runs a website called http://www.starfarer.net/ which describes itself as: "...a less-than-reverent fan site devoted to Hawkwind, inventors of space rock".

He recently gave Centigrade 232 a through and pretty good review, culminating: "It has so much more impact given the way it is presented in this new edition. And the wider availability is excellent, perhaps affording Calvert the best chance at the recognition that he sought, nearly twenty-five years after his passing. Good job all round".

The review can be found: http://www.starfarer.net/c232bkcd.html about half way down the page. I accept his criticisms (which are pretty minor) but I would like to set the record straight on one matter, the cover.

Steve writes: "I was surprised to see that the cover has the same image as the 2007 Voiceprint edition’s, although it’s provided in a larger format: approximately 6” x 9”." Further on he writes: "Further digging reveals that Gonzo and Voiceprint are in fact the same outfit, more or less, which explains why the new edition looks so similar to the previous one: they probably reused the same printing plates etc.. "

Not actually the case. Keeping the cover was my choice and mine alone. Rob Ayling originally asked me for a psychedelicy cover, but I put the whole package together trying to bear in mind that Calvert wished to be known as a poet rather than a rock music performer, and I thought that the cover of the 2nd edition was really rather nice. I have never actually seen the first edition, and as far as I am aware no-one at Gonzo actually has a copy, so I had to err on the side of caution whilst correcting errors, and deciding what bits of artwork to leave out and what to keep in.

Thanks for your kind words Steve. I appreciate them. I hope that the next time I design a Hawkwind related package it, too, will meet with your approval.

Slainte
Jon