Hawkwind - Dawn of Hawkwind

(CD 2010/1999, 42:56, Blueprint BP309CD)

The tracks:
  1- Come On (Dharma Blues Band)
  2- My Baby's Gone (Dharma Blues Band)
  3- Dealing With The Devil (Dharma Blues Band)
  4- Roll 'Em Pete (Dharma Blues Band)
  5- Bring It On Home (Dharma Blues Band)
  6- Illusions (Dave Brock & Band)
  7- Get Yourself Together (Dave Brock, radio appearance)
  8- Bottle Up (Dave Brock)
  9- Diamond Ring (Famous Cure)
10- Hurry On Sundown (Famous Cure)
11- Cymbaline (Dave Brock & Band)
12- Master of the Universe (Hawkwind)

Hawkwind Website        Voiceprint Records


Despite the fact that Dawn Of Hawkwind is sold as a Hawkwind-album, it only contains recordings from Dave Brock' s first steps in music dating from around 1966 to 1971. Brock's first band was Dharma Blues Band. The song Come On is written by someone named Waters and it's very likely that this is Floyd's Roger Waters since Cymbaline is a Roger Waters-song as well. The booklet however, doesn't mention anything about the connection between Dharma Blues Band, Brock and Waters.

Dharma Blues Band made more or less traditional blues like many bands in the early sixties. From there Brock went into psychedelics. The song Illusions is an early version of what would become Mirror Of Illusion from the first Hawkwind-album and eventually Mask Of Morning from the Electric Tepee- album (1990). Brock then became second in a radio competition which enabled him to record some 'boring music' as he describes it himself. Then he formed a new blues band called Famous Cure. This was a more sophisticated electric blues band with more psychedelics. Famous Cure played some shows in The Netherlands - the drummer of the band was a Dutchman. After Famous Cure he formed Group X in 1969, which was renamed to Hawkwind Zoo and eventually to Hawkwind.

So Dawn Of Hawkwind isn't a Hawkwind-album at all. It's maybe interesting for Hawkwind-fans, but not essential. For someone who's not familiar with the band, this album is not a good starting point. The early blues songs are really cliché blues played by so many bands and played better by many bands either. Famous Cure was a more interesting band having its own sound, but on this record the sound quality isn't always that good.

***- Erik Gibbels (edited by Peter Willemsen)

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