Turner And Hootch

Nik Turner is one of the founding members of Hawkwind. He was a member from 1969 to 1976 and rejoined the band from 1982 to 1984. Turner played saxophone and flute and he occasionally sang. "Space Gypsy" (2013) features Turner's vocals, and his trademark saxophones and flutes front a quintet whose sound is drenched in synths, mellotrons, electric guitars, and drums. His vocals are awash in reverb but they ride cleanly just above the instrumental fray. While this music isn't so much prog as cosmic rock, it has enough weirdness in both its production and with the man himself singing of Mayans, space aliens, multidimensional realities, and mystic and occult practices to please most acid travelers. Clocking in at 50 minutes, standout tracks include opener "Fallen Angel STS-51-L," with its crunchy guitar driving through the layered mellotrons and drums, the gently spacy "Galaxy Rise"…

4.5 stars. Nik Turner's debut was my first experience with his music other than of course his work with HAWKWIND. The debut was called "Xitintoday" from 1978 and it was a unique recording in that Nik recorded much of it in a pyramid over in Egypt. It's a really good album too and there's such a cool story to that one…

Brad Turner and Seamus Blake reunite nearly 20 years later and the results are breathtaking. Sometimes trying to recreate something can be unsuccessful, and the results can be disappointing. But it's no surprise that ''Jump Up'' is a huge success. The album features 9 new all original compositions by Brad and he penned some beauties. There is a palpable excitement and electricity in these tracks, clearly demonstrating that Seamus and Brad are both relishing sharing the front line again.

Back in 2008, former Wishbone Ash bassist/vocalist Martin Turner came up with the idea of re-recording the immortal "Argus" record with his then current band consisting of Ray Hatfield, Keith Buck, Rob Hewins, and Danny Willson. The legendary John Wetton (Asia, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash) and Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes also make an appearance on one track. However, the intention was to approach the aforementioned album from a slightly different angle with respect to the technology used to record it and each individual musician's contribution to the song material…