Electric Tepee
ELECTRIC TEPEE (1993)
At the recording of this album, released in '92-'93...Hawkwind's lineup was:
Dave Brock -vocals/guitar/keybrd
Alan Davey -vocals/bass/kybrd
Richard Chadwick -percussion/vocals
Brock remains the only original Hawkwind member - but being the driving influence, this effort is definitely Hawkwind, as Brock essentially is Hawkwind. The album is great , with 14 tracks lasting a total of nearly 80 minutes. As usual, when listening to any Hawkwind album for the first time, there are many songs feel somewhat unfamiliar or unusual, but Hawkwind has always been thusly, but the fusion concept, vocal style and repetitious chord runs to allow for the mind to transcend are all there. However there is a lot less "straying" into audio experiments only understood while on acid - as you might hear on other early albums such as "In Search of Space" Additionally, I find the sound on Electric Tepee is very clean (bright), in contrast with, for example, Hall of the Mountain Grill where the entire album wants for what Peavey Music calls 'presence" (there's even a knob for this on their amps!). Electric Tepee, is for the most part, very palatable for even a non-Hawkfan but it still has it's "odd" moments (or it wouldn't be Hawkwind). As the title suggests, the band apparently feels some lure to the Native American culture and the title track reflects this - in a recent interview, Brock mentions that "freedom & rights" attract Hawkwind to Native America.
As a whole, I feel this is an excellent Hawkwind album that should be a part of anyone's Hawkwind collection. This album could possibly become one of my favorites over time - I shall have to see what it's long lasting effect is. Meanwhile, I happily await their next effort. Listed below are my 4 fav songs. Then following is my personal synopsis of each track on this release:
FAVORITE SONGS:
LSD
RIGHT TO DECIDE
MASK OF MORNING
GOING TO HAWAII
LSD - a great high-energy starter song. It gets you in the mood for electric fusion and blanga. Harmonized vocals occur only in the beginning - the main dish is the repetitive chord runs with synthesizer/audio generator-like sounds that are Hawkwind's trademark - with Chadwick's fast & hard percussion, of course. In the middle of the song, the band suddenly breaks and double-times the tempo to make the instrumental workout more effective. Are you ready to rock? High energy trip for the next several minutes. At the end, Brock finally unleashes some compelling, yet simple & repetitious guitar & bass runs that let you know they know very well what's going on with both the song and each other - but also this break announces the coming end of this track. The song then comes to a screeching halt but the electronics and guitar linger a moment with a voice in the background saying "Hello?" "Hello?"..........."Goodbye". What a trip!!! (get it?) I have my own home-made sound clip of me playing this song. I know 200K is a lot and I have it zipped, but download it anyway! You'll be glad (I hope!).
Here are the lyrics to LSD:
By mere existance - we are elite
Without a body - we are complete
There is no master - we are alone
There is an answer - where we have flown
Blue Shift - talk about a shift! Totally different from the 1st track.. In my opinion, this feels like an "afterglow song" for the previous track, LSD. This percussionless song has a really enchanting sound and is uncharacteristic of standard Hawkwind music. The song uses some sort of synth voice pad to produce the effect of a choir..
Death of War - Hmmmm. A poem is read with vocals under electronic effect. Keyboard utilizes minor chords to reflect depression and Hawkwind employs battle sounds and confusion in the background to bring in the feel of the chaos of armed conflict. The snare drum rolls out a march beat as the song bewails man's love affair with war. I like the message, but I often skip this as occassions arise.
Secret Agent - Hawkwind gets back on track with high energy after the previous 2-song hiatus. This is a good, long song with a lot of variety - and speed. On the 1996 album Alien 4, Brock belts out Festivals - a song with similar structure. In Secret Agent, the rhyming vocals are ranted out super-fast and at times, nearly monotone (Hawkwind Rap?) as a story is told with a bit of humor of what it's like to be a secret agent. The message is that if Truth & Justice prevailed, there'd be no need for secret agents. Watch out for those "tight spots"!!! Oh...I almost forgot...the song is purposely clipped in the end making you think your CD player has been unplugged. A neat trick especially with the sudden telephone ringing - which intros the next song. (...and I certainly mean that....maybe.)
Garden Pests - unusual, witty & short with an electronic gizmo-ish/insect(?) theme. Sequencer City!!! Beginning with a digital telephone ringing which also is part of the tempo - the song then joins in. Background sounds of insects eating leaves(?) and of birds chirping prevail as the song builds additional electronic sounds all the way up to the end. Very quick tempo with interesting percussion. I like to think of this as a novelty song. It's OK.
Space Dust - float around as a speck of dust in space with pulses from synth in no particular order around one sustained bass chord that is prevalent throughout the course of the song. Towards the end, the pleasing sounds are metamorphosed into confusing disoriented runs as a prep to the following song, Snake Dance, ensues. Fair song if you're spaced out. A bit too monotonous for the everyday me...I'd need to be lying in bed relaxing or else, tripping - to truly appreciate it every time.
Snake Dance - another instrumental - comes in related to the previous track but slowly becomes it's own song with percussion. Synth generated sounds and Nik Turner-like oboe-ish notes that overall convey an image of a caravan in Persia trudging across the desert. There are a few moments here and there with a couple of neat synth string chord changes with some synth brass here and there.
Mask of Morning - Hawkind again returns to high energy. Catchy descending guitar riff accompanies the main vocal. This song is kinda inspiring! . This is a more-energetic remake of a song that appeared on their debut album "Hawkwind" ('70) and also "Psychedelic Warlords" (compilation). This is a very good song even on the first listen. The song breaks off in the middle to a bit of floatation & wandering, but gets back up as the synths in brass-mode and guitar climb to crescendo and the original melody returns in force. This song ranks with LSD & Right to Decide as my fav songs from this album. "...In the dreamworld that you found....."
Netherworld - Short take. Mainly an intro to "Don't Understand" in my opinion. Abrupt synth chords that give a feelings of something sinister around the corner.
Don't Understand - instrumental song with lots for everyone. It's a great trip song. Heavy on synth and effects which run hand in hand with drums and the constant bass run which is practically a steady sequence. Some other sequencer-like runs fade in and out - but the bass runs remain constant for the entire song.. Brock's guitar comes in for sublte leads and at times, the effects and the conversations in the background remind me of a slower version of "On the Run" from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I do not imply that Hawkwind got any ideas from them, I only say those background voices reminds me of Floyd. Don't Understand is unique and very trippy.
Sadness Runs Deep - The vocals of this song remind me of early Hawkwind. The song has the trademark dual vocal harmonies -with a twist: the theme is lost love. With lyrics like "...my weakpoints they were noted, put away for future use. She says that she loves me as she tightens up the noose...". It starts off with a dual vocal chant (song playing in minor chords) full of regret, and goes up to it's first break rather quickly. This break, which is the chorus, explains further why "sadness runs deep" but in a different, quicker manner (in major chords) which gives the song duality. The song is interesting and catchy.
Right to Decide - Whoa!!! Where did this come from? Hawkwind puts high energy and uses no minor-keyed chords for the main body of this upbeat dance-to (say what?). This song has potential for FM air-play or even to be played at a dance club (no way!!!) - except that Hawkind (as usual) throws in a tempo-changing break where, for a moment, you'd have to stand on the dance floor and sway -but when they come back online - it's full energy! The song It's weird that the song's story concerns the true story of a murder in Northumberland. Rivals with LSD as my fav song.
Going to Hawaii - This song, according to Brock, is actually a jam session between the 3 that just blossomed into a track suitable for the album. Brock has a "soft-spot" for Hawaii (he mentions a predisposition to the island in an interview w/ Robert Godwin). This easy-to-follow song is an unusual instrumental for Hawkwind and reminds me of track #2 "Blue Shift". The song is comprised of mystical keyboard/synth chord runs with a compelling "native-like" percussion accompaniment that Richard Chadwick delivers skillfully. Crickets chirp in the background and the listener is transported outdoors to a mystical night-time place full of psychic explorations and wanderings - very reminiscent of some stuff I have heard by Enigma. My guess is that if Alan Davey is the influence behind Blue Shift, then this one must be his, too. The song fades with only the percussion remaining and it soon fades also. Very cool.
Electric Tepee - the final title track is not the greatest cut on the release - actually it's relatively short and more of an event than a song - but it seems very significant. It conjures up images of Native Americans indulging in ritual.The song starts off totally electronic. Later, Native American chants and tom-toms beat in accompaniment with synth/audio-generator sounds and a repetitious bass run that makes the entire mix give you chills - Indians on acid??? Most certainly! Mescaline comes from peyote, ya know. The electronic accompaniment to the native chant/drums is not actual music, but tones and riffs to accentuate the psychic significance of it all. I have a fantasy about this song: I see a young brave in his ritual to manhood on a strong dose of peyote. He's laying down staring at the stars, surrounded by his tribal family who are beating drums and chanting - gently prodding him to loosen his mental blocks and fly. As his euphoria peaks, he has revelations and psychic sensations that cannot be put into words - the electronic & synth sounds Hawkwind adds are an interpretation of those revelations and sensations. Tripping with the Indians - now that's an idea! In the end of course, this could all be my own twisted interpretation and far from anything Hawkwind intended - but I seriously doubt it! C-Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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