''All Aboard the Skylark'' is the thirty-second album by

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

band

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

, released in 2019.

Background

Some copies were issued as a 2CD set with an additional disc ''Acoustic Daze'', which was also issued as an independent

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

record. The content is the original acoustic recordings that were reworked with

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantial ...

for the ''

Road to Utopia ''Road to Utopia'' is a 1946 American semi-musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, ''Road to Utopia'' is the fourth film of the "''Road to …' ...

'' album. The album was promoted with a 15 date tour of Britain in November, culminating in a final show at London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. The group were augmented by keyboard player

Tim Blake Timothy Blake (born 6 February 1952, in Shepherd's Bush, London) is a keyboardist, synthesist, vocalist, and composer working with Gong, Hawkwind and his Synthesizer and Light performances as Crystal Machine, with the French Light Artist Pat ...

, with guest appearances from Phil Campbell (at the Royal Albert Hall and Cardiff Tramshed) and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

(in Guildford). The set-list included "Flesh Fondue", "Last Man on Earth", "65 Million Years Ago", "In the Beginning" and "The Fantasy of Faldum" from the album. A record of the live show titled ''50th Anniversary Live'', with the guest appearance from Campbell, was released on 4 December 2020 by Cherry Red in 3LP and 2CD formats. On 14 November, the group recorded a session for

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available only ...

show, playing "65 Million Years Ago", "Last Man on Earth", and " Spirit of the Age". "

Silver Machine "Silver Machine" is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching number three on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, again in 1978 reaching number 34 on the UK s ...

" was recorded as part of the session for broadcast on the

Gideon Coe Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe (born 22 September 1967 in Canterbury, Kent) is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist. Early career He began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a child presenter on the BBC One TV program ...

show later the same evening. The album reached number 34 in the UK albums chart.

Tracks

:All tracks written by

Dave Brock David Anthony Brock (born 20 August 1941) is an English musician. He plays electric guitar, keyboards, bass and oscillators. He is a founder, sole constant member and musical focus of the space rock group Hawkwind.Allmusic– Dave Brock biogr ...

unless otherwise stated

Disc 1

#"Flesh Fondue" – 5:03 #"Nets of Space" – 3:03 #"Last Man on Earth" (Magnus Martin) – 5:01 #"We Are Not Dead... Only Sleeping" – 3:21 #"All Aboard the Skylark" (Brock, Martin,

Niall Hone Niall Hone (born 24 June 1970) is an English musician, best known as a member of the UK space rock band Hawkwind from 2008 to 2017, and May 2018–2021. Hone has also been heavily involved in electronic dance music since the early 1990s. Music ...

, Richard Chadwick) – 5:26 #"65 Million Years Ago" – 4:11 #"In the Beginning" – 2:00 #"The Road To..." – 5:13 #"The Fantasy of Faldum" (Martin) – 9:15

Disc 2: ''Acoustic Daze''

#"Psi Power" (Brock,

Robert Calvert Robert Newton Calvert (9 March 1945 – 14 August 1988) was a South African-British writer, poet, and musician. He is principally known for his role as lyricist, performance poet and lead vocalist of the space rock band Hawkwind. Early life ...

) – 5:16 #"Hymn to the Sun" (Martin) – 2:49 #"The Watcher" ( Ian Kilmister) – 4:54 #"Generation Door" – 0:41 #"Age of the Micro Man" (Brock, Calvert) – 5:08 #"Intro the Night" (Martin) – 2:11 #"Down Through the Night" – 6:12 #"Flying Doctor" (Brock, Calvert) – 5:47 #"Get Yourself Together" – 7:00 #"Ascent of Man" – 5:04 #"We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago" – 3:53

Personnel

;Hawkwind *Dave Brock – vocals, guitar, keyboards,

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

, harmonica *Magnus Martin – vocals, guitar, keyboards,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

*Niall Hone – bass guitar (Disc 1) *Richard Chadwick – drums, percussion, vocals ;Additional musicians *Michal Sosna – saxophone ("Last Man On Earth", "All Aboard The Skylark", "Get Yourself Together" and "Ascent of Man") *Haz Wheaton – bass guitar (Disc 2) *Mr Dibs (Jonathan Darbyshire) – vocals ("Flying Doctor"), backing vocals ("Get Yourself Together", "Ascent of Man" and "We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago") ;Technical *Producer – Hawkwind *Artwork – Martin Krel *Layout ackaging– Meriel Waissman *Co-ordinator – Kris Tait

Title

According to Dave Brock, speaking during the live session on the Marc Riley show, the title is taken from the

Skylark series ''Skylark'' is a science fiction/ space opera series by American writer E. E. Smith. In the first book, ''The Skylark of Space'' (first published in ''Amazing Stories'' in 1928), a scientist discovers a space-drive, builds a starship, and flies ...

by E. E. "Doc" Smith.

References

{{Authority control Hawkwind albums Space rock albums 2019 albums Cherry Red Records albums