PXR5

Last updated

PXR5
PXR5.jpg
Studio album by
Hawkwind
Released15 June 1979
RecordedDe Montfort Hall, Leicester, 29 September 1977 (tracks 6, 7)
Hammersmith Odeon, London, 5 October 1977 (track 3)
Rockfield Studios, January 1978 (tracks 1, 2, 8)
Week Park Farm, Devon, June 1978 (tracks 4, 5)
Genre
Length37:33
Label Charisma
Producer Calvert/Brock (track 1), Calvert/House (track 2), Hawkwind (tracks 3, 6, 7), Dave Brock (tracks 4, 5, 8)
Hawkwind chronology
25 Years On
(1978)		PXR5
(1979)		 Live Seventy Nine
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

PXR5 is the ninth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1979. It reached No. 59 on the UK album charts.

Contents

A new remix and surround mix of the album by Steven Wilson was released in 2023 by Atomhenge Records as part of the Days Of The Underground boxed set.

Overview

Allmusic referred to PXR5 as "the last in the sequence of brittle, pop-inflected records the band launched with Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music ", saying that Hawkwind "both understood and allowed themselves to absorb the energies of new wave" on PXR5. [1]

The album was recorded and mixed at Rockfield Studios in January and February 1978. "Uncle Sam's on Mars", "Robot" and "High Rise" were originally recorded on the preceding UK tour but were partly overdubbed in the studio, particularly Robert Calvert's double-tracked vocals. "Infinity" and "Life Form" were originally to have been part of a solo album Dave Brock was working on.

After the album was recorded and mixed, the band split up during a US tour in March when Simon House left to join David Bowie's band and Robert Calvert suffered a bout of clinical depression. With the band in temporary hiatus and no pending promotional tour, the album's release was shelved.

The band re-emerged in mid-1978 as the Hawklords to record the 25 Years On album. Two tracks were released as singles, "Psi Power" and "25 Years", which featured "Death Trap" and "PXR5" respectively on their B-sides. The PXR5 album was eventually released on 15 June 1979, and the cryptic message on the cover "This is the last but one" refers to the fact that it was recorded prior to 25 Years On.

The album's cover featured a British BS 1363 mains plug wired in a dangerous way. Shortly after the album's release, the illustration of the plug was covered by a sticker obscuring the image. [3]

Lyrical references

CD Versions

The Virgin CD issue was mastered with tapes different from those used for the original vinyl version. The most notable difference is that "High Rise" is the live version without studio overdubs, so starts with a clunk rather than the portamento bass intro and has a coarser vocal from Calvert. Also "PXR5" gains an introduction that's missing from the original.

The Atomhenge CD issue restores the original version of the album, and includes the different versions of "High Rise" and "PXR5" as bonus tracks 14 and 15 respectively.

On 31 March 2023, Atomhenge Records (via Cherry Red) issued a new Steven Wilson mix and surround mix of the album as part of Days Of The Underground (The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979) 8CD/2BR boxed set. [5]

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Death Trap" (Robert Calvert, Dave Brock) – 3:51
  2. "Jack of Shadows" (Calvert, Simon House, Adrian Shaw) – 3:28
  3. "Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Calvert, Brock, House, Simon King) – 5:44
  4. "Infinity" (Calvert, Brock) – 4:17
  5. "Life Form" (Brock) – 1:44

Side 2

  2. "Robot" (Calvert, Brock) – 8:14
  3. "High Rise" (Calvert, House) – 4:36
  4. "PXR5" (Brock) – 5:39

Atomhenge CD bonus tracks

  2. "Jack of Shadows" [live studio version] – 3:40
  3. "We Like to Be Frightened" – 2:46
  4. "High Rise" [live studio version] – 4:43
  5. "Robot" [first studio version] – 9:24
  6. "Jack of Shadows" [Adrian Shaw vocal version] – 3:54
  7. "High Rise" [alternate mix] – 4:37
  8. "PXR5" [alternate mix] – 5:40
  9. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" [live 1978] – 2:38

Personnel

From album liner notes

Hawkwind

Credits

Charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [6] 59

Release history

Related Research Articles

<i>Levitation</i> (Hawkwind album) 1980 studio album by Hawkwind

Levitation is the tenth studio album by English rock group Hawkwind, released in 1980. It peaked at No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Warrior on the Edge of Time</i> 1975 studio album by Hawkwind

Warrior on the Edge of Time is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel The Eternal Champion. It was the band's highest-charting studio album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 13, and was their third and last album to make the U.S. Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 150. Reviews have been mixed, with Melody Maker panning the album and particularly criticizing the vocal work while the All Music Guide has praised the album for features such as the songwriting. This would also be the last album to feature the band's bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was fired from the band one day before the album's release.

<i>Quark, Strangeness and Charm</i> 1977 studio album by Hawkwind

Quark, Strangeness and Charm is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent six weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at number 30.

<i>Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music</i> 1976 studio album by Hawkwind

Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Hawkwind, released in 1976. It reached No. 33 on the UK album charts.

<i>Sonic Attack</i> 1981 studio album by Hawkwind

Sonic Attack is the eleventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1981. It spent five weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #19.

<i>Live Seventy Nine</i> 1980 live album by Hawkwind

Live Seventy Nine is a 1980 live album by Hawkwind recorded on their Winter 1979 UK tour. It reached #15 on the UK album chart.

<i>Space Bandits</i> 1990 studio album by Hawkwind

Space Bandits is the sixteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1990. It spent one week on the UK albums chart at #70.

<i>25 Years On</i> 1978 studio album by Hawklords

25 Years On is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind, released in 1978. The band released it under the name "Hawklords" for legal reasons, as there was a dispute over ownership of the name "Hawkwind" at the time. It reached No. 48 on the UK album charts. It was originally titled 25 Years On and the first 25000 were pressed as this until the band decided to simply call it Hawklords. Subsequent re-releases have reverted to the name 25 Years On and the band also now use this name on their website.

<i>The Business Trip</i> 1994 live album by Hawkwind

The Business Trip is a 1994 live album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. It was recorded at the Slough gig of the group's 1993 tour to promote the It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous album.

<i>Palace Springs</i> 1991 live album by Hawkwind

Palace Springs is a 1991 live/studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind.

<i>The Weird Tapes</i> 1980 compilation album by Hawkwind

The Weird Tapes are a set of music tapes by the English rock group Hawkwind. Issued in the early 1980s, they contain live, radio sessions, out-take and demo performances.

<i>Choose Your Masques</i> 1982 studio album by Hawkwind

Choose Your Masques is the thirteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1982. It spent five weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 29.

<i>Roadhawks</i> 1976 compilation album by Hawkwind

Roadhawks is a 1976 compilation album by Hawkwind covering the years 1970-1975, and it peaked at #45 on the UK album charts. It is the first compilation release from the group, marking the end of the group's tenure with United Artists Records. The music was compiled and mixed by the group's Dave Brock.

<i>Alien 4</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Hawkwind

Alien 4 is the twentieth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1995.

<i>Love in Space</i> 1996 live album by Hawkwind

Love in Space is a 1996 live album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. It was recorded during the group's 1995 tour to promote the Alien 4 album.

The discography of the British space rock group Hawkwind spans from their formation in 1969 through to the present day, with consistent output of live and studio albums, EPs and singles. The group have used aliases to release some albums in an attempt to either redefine themselves, as with the 1978 album 25 Years On released under the name Hawklords, or simply to distinguish the piece of work from their usual output, as with White Zone released under the name Psychedelic Warriors.

"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is a 1977 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind, being the title track from the Quark, Strangeness and Charm album.

<i>Atomhenge 76</i> 2000 live album by Hawkwind

Atomhenge 76 is a 2000 live album release of part of a 1976 concert by Hawkwind.

<i>Spirit of the Age Anthology</i> 2008 compilation album by Hawkwind

Spirit of the Age and The Dream Goes On are two triple CD anthologies released in 2008 covering the periods 1976-84 and 1985-97 of the British rock group Hawkwind.

<i>Earthed to the Ground</i> 1984 studio album by Dave Brock

Earthed to the Ground is a 1984 debut solo studio album by the English space rock musician Dave Brock.

References

  1. 1 2 3 PXR5 at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  3. ↑ Abrahams, Ian (2004). Hawkwind: Sonic Assassins. p. 118. ISBN   9780946719693.
  4. ↑ Sellars, Simon. "Flat block of two dimensions". Ballardian. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Days Of The Underground (The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979)". Cherry Red Records . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.