Business Trip

AMG Review of Business Trip

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

By this time, it's obvious that the best way to hear the modern incarnation of this band, and maybe any version of Hawkwind, is live, and this 15-song disc, made up of material from their 1993 British tour, fits the bill. Vintage material includes "Quark Strangeness and Charm" (a phrase derived from particle physics), but all of this disc pretty much rocks out hard and long, with swirling synthesizers in the background. This outfit plays harder and faster than the group's classic lineup, but whether they work with more style or just more noise is anyone's guess (this reviewer says it isn't style), and there are other concert recordings that may prove more satisfying, if not as vivid sonically. As songwriter and guitarist, Dave Brock is the dominant personality here.