Robert CalvertCaptain Lockheed And The Starfighters
Released 1974 on United Artists, rereleased on Beat Goes On
Reviewed by Tim Regis, 09/08/2000ce
The music itself is, well, very Hawkwind-like -- this is the guy who wrote "Silver Machine," after all -- but with the right sort of delivery from what sounds like a variety of guest vocalists on each track (my copy is a dub of someone else's, so I'm not sure who is where). What I *do* know is that the hyperdramatic beginning of "The Song of the Gremlin, Pt. 1" sounds exactly like the type of stuff Ween would make such loving fun of years later, and believe me, I mean that as a compliment. ;-)
The whole thing seems to be a concept album about planes, flying, militarism and the like, so basically imagine if the cover from the new Primal Scream album was transported back in time and stuck on a record with more overt humor, just a little less pretension, but a similar set of targets. "Catch a Falling Starfighter," which ends things on a really disturbing note, almost says it all.
Originally released by United Artists in 1974, it's currently in print via Beat Goes On, and can be ordered via www.amazon.co.uk -- no American release is immediately apparent.