It's no surprise that many of the band's albums are live recordings to begin with, premiering new material with blazing live energy.

HAWKWIND: The Entire and Infinite Universe of Hawkwind (4-CD set on Dressed to Kill Records)

This awesome set (which Dressed to Kill previously released as the "Welcome to the Future" set of picture CDs) collects together four rare live Hawkwind releases from the early '70s:

"Masters of the Universe" is a 48-minute dose of transcendental live space rock Hawkwind performed at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in 1972. Dave Brock's grinding guitar (alternating between shrill power chords and hypnotically choppy rhythms), Nik Turner's wailing saxophone (furiously emotional and "crazy"), savage drums, even more savage electronics by Dik Mik and Del Dettmar (it should be noted that at this point, Hawkwind did not employ keyboard electronics, relying on the generation of swooping noises and alien cybernetic screams), thunderous bass by Lemmy (who would years later form Motorhead and forge the beginnings of the heavy metal genre). The sound quality is decent, the performance is classic.

"Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin" is 38 minutes of live material from 1973, featuring unbridled classic tuneage. The sound is raw and dense, almost bootleg quality, but the music will convince you to ignore this flaw in favor of the gloriously cosmic riffs. Included are several recitations by Robert Calvert which are unique to this record (like "In the Egg" and "Wage War").

"Space Ritual, Volume 2" is exactly that -- 64 minutes of live material from the band's historical "Space Ritual" tour (this show's from December 30, 1972 -- almost New Year's Eve!). The band's vibrant style of power guitar and urgent sax shines particularly here. The monster bass rumbling beneath these fronts while the drums erect a domineering backdrop, a cage for the shuddering and shrill synthesizers that screech through the melodies. Truly, this performance represents the classic original Hawkwind line-up (of Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Robert Calvert, Lemmy, Dik Mik, Del Dettmar and Simon King) at their fiery best. Absolutely epic versions of "Sonic Attack", "Time We Left", "Brainstorm" and "Master of the Universe". Excellent sound quality too. This CD release duplicates the full original double album.

"The Text of Festival" is live circa 1970-72. Although the sound quality is somewhat muted, the performance's brilliance overshadows this lack of crispness. The music is unbridled Hawkwind: primal and prone to wandering into improvisational riff sessions of intensely spacey quality. This disc literally explodes with these tasty improv jams (although 19 minutes of the original double album have been left of this 70-minute CD release). This material is pre-Calvert, but Turner's sax is present.

NOTE: A double CD exists called "Year 2000: Codename Hawkwind, Volume One" (on Demi Monde Records). The pair of featured concerts are identified by date and place, but they also happen to be "Space Ritual, Volume 2" and "Masters of the Universe".

HAWKWIND: Thrilling Hawkwind Adventures -- Hawkwind Live 1976 (CD on Griffin Music)

This time you get 53 minutes of Hawkwind's October 5, 1976 concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The line-up, producing the band's slickest sound, is: Brock, Calvert, Turner, Simon House on violin, Simon King and Alan Powell on drums, and Paul Rudolph on bass.

Replacing the jam session quotient with a stunning mastery of their instruments, this Hawkwind belts out material with a crisp, rapid-fire delivery, fusing hard rock with the spaciest of qualities. Classic tuneage like "Brainstorm" and "Sonic Attack" share space on this disc with "Steppenwolf", "Uncle Sam's on Mars", "Back on the Streets", and a 10-minute rendition of "Time for Sale".

Calvert's vocals are commanding, like hoarse satin in an ion storm. Brock's guitar flows like an unearthly serpent. Turner's sax is fiery and dizzying with passion. House's violin injects a higher spaciness to the surging melodies. The drumming is intricate and steadfast. The bass rumbles with a subterranean tremor. And through it all, the electronics twinkle and bubble with a life of their own.

Excellent recording quality makes this live release a tasty treat, affording the brilliant space rock to shine with full detail.

HAWKWIND:Collectors Series Volume 1: Complete '79 (double CD on Voiceprint Records)

In 1979, Hawkwind released their "Live 79" album. The "Complete '79" double CD (totaling 91 minutes in length) features twice the material as that original release. At this point the band line-up is: Brock, Huw Lloyd-Langton on guitar, Harvey Bainbridge on bass, Simon King on drums, and the synthesizers of Tim Blake (from Gong).

The music here is savage with a flowing touch. Blake's electronics are bubbling and organic, his keyboards drone with an endless shimmer. This sparkle adds an odd flavor to the razor guitar, growling bass line and critical-mass drums. The vocals have a rock band quality, husky and insistent. Frequently, the electronics and guitars go head-to-head, exerting maximum force with their melodic outbursts, generating a sonic duel (where the real winner is the listener). These moments are very reminiscent of early Hawkwind, evolving that savagery with a compressed refinement, then injecting it into a hard rock format. It is a satisfying union.

This sound mutates classic tunes like "Spirit of the Age", "PXR5", "Silver Machine" and the obligatory fave "Brainstorm", while the sound is aptly applied to material current to the period, like "Motorway City", "World of Tiers" and "Levitation". Meanwhile, tracks like "New Jerusalem" and "Lighthouse" display Blake's electronic wizardry with amazing capacity . . . for nearly 20 minutes too. Here, his synthesizers gurgle and swoop with a pronounced sedative quality, going astral before the music resumes its savagely rhythmic structure.

The sound quality has a muted touch, but nothing severe enough to hamper the music.

(Continued Next Week)