The Xenon Codex
The Xenon Codex | ||||
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Studio album by Hawkwind | ||||
Released | 25 April 1988 | |||
Recorded | February and March 1988 | |||
Studio | Loco Studios, Caerleon; Rockfield Studios, Monmouth | |||
Genre | Space rock | |||
Length | 43:54 | |||
Label | GWR | |||
Producer | Hawkwind, Guy Bidmead | |||
Hawkwind chronology | ||||
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The Xenon Codex is the fifteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1988. It spent two weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #79.[1]
The group's line-up remained unchanged for three years. The album was recorded at Loco Studios, Caerleon and Rockfield Studios, Monmouth in February and March 1988. It was produced with Guy Bidmead, who had previously been Vic Maile's assistant.
The lyrics to "The War I Survived" and "Heads" were written by Roger Neville-Neil, who was a Hawkwind fan. "Lost Chronicles" is banded as separate track, but it forms the instrumental middle section of "Neon Skyline".
The cover is by Bob Walker, who had also illustrated the inner sleeve for The Chronicle of the Black Sword and adapted Michael Butterworth's Ledge of Darkness in graphic novel form. It is an Art Deco design derived from the hawk by Barney Bubbles on the rear cover of Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music. Initial copies came in a fold-out sleeve with a die-cut front.
The group undertook a 25 date UK tour in April to promote the album.[2] The Hammersmith Odeon show on 21 April was recorded by BBC Radio 1 for broadcast as a 60-minute in-concert programme.
After the tour, drummer Thompson left the group. He was replaced by former Dumpy's Rusty Nuts drummer Mick Kirton for some September dates, but the group felt he was unsuitable. Richard Chadwick, a veteran drummer of groups involved with the English free-festival scene, then joined for an 18 date UK tour in November and December. The Nottingham Rock City show on 7 December was recorded, and part released on Undisclosed Files Addendum (1995), with these tracks being included as bonus tracks on the 2010 re-issue.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The War I Survived" | Dave Brock, Alan Davey, Roger Neville-Neil | 5:23 |
2. | "Wastelands of Sleep" | Kris Tait, Brock | 4:14 |
3. | "Neon Skyline" | Davey | 2:19 |
4. | "Lost Chronicles" | Harvey Bainbridge | 5:20 |
5. | "Tides" | Huw Lloyd-Langton | 2:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Heads" | Brock, Neville-Neil | 4:55 |
7. | "Mutation Zone" | Bainbridge, Brock | 3:57 |
8. | "E.M.C." | Bainbridge | 4:53 |
9. | "Sword of the East" | Davey | 5:24 |
10. | "Good Evening" | Hawkwind | 4:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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11. | "Ejection" | Calvert | 4:29 |
12. | "Motorway City" | Brock | 6:47 |
13. | "Dragons and Fables" | Lloyd-Langton | 3:19 |
14. | "Heads" | Neville-Neil, Brock | 3:52 |
15. | "Angels of Death" | Brock | 5:36 |
Personnel
- Hawkwind
- Dave Brock – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Harvey Bainbridge – keyboards, vocals
- Huw Lloyd-Langton – electric guitar
- Alan Davey – bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Danny Thompson Jr – drums
Credits
- Recorded at Loco Studios, Caerleon and Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, February and March 1988.
- Produced with Guy Bidmead.
- Cover by Bob Walker.
Charts
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
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UK Albums (OCC)[3] | 79 |
Release history
- April 1988: Great Western Records, GWLP 26, vinyl and CD - initial vinyl copies came in a fold out cover.
- 1989: Enigma/GWR, 7 75407–1, USA CD and vinyl
- February 1992: Castle Communications, CLACD 281, UK CD
- July 1999: Essential Records, ESMCD 737, UK CD digipak
- May 2010: Atomhenge (Cherry Red) Records, ATOMCD1022, UK CD
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
External links
- Atomhenge Records
References
- ^ "Hawkwind". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ Youles, Steve. "Gig and Set Lists 1988". Starfarer's hawkwind Page. self-published. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ The Xenon Codex at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- v
- t
- e
- Dave Brock
- Richard Chadwick
- Magnus Martin
- Thighpaulsandra
- Doug MacKinnon
- Nik Turner
- Dik Mik
- Huw Lloyd-Langton
- Thomas Crimble
- Del Dettmar
- Simon King
- Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister
- Robert Calvert
- Simon House
- Alan Powell
- Paul Rudolph
- Adrian Shaw
- Harvey Bainbridge
- Steve Swindells
- Keith Hale
- Ginger Baker
- Andy Anderson
- Robert Heaton
- Alan Davey
- Clive Deamer
- Bridget Wishart
- Ron Tree
- Mr Dibs
- Tim Blake
- Niall Hone
- Hawkwind
- In Search of Space
- Doremi Fasol Latido
- Hall of the Mountain Grill
- Warrior on the Edge of Time
- Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
- Quark, Strangeness and Charm
- 25 Years On (as Hawklords)
- PXR5
- Levitation
- Sonic Attack
- Church of Hawkwind
- Choose Your Masques
- The Chronicle of the Black Sword
- The Xenon Codex
- Space Bandits
- Electric Tepee
- It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous
- White Zone (as Psychedelic Warriors)
- Alien 4
- Distant Horizons
- In Your Area
- Spacebrock
- Take Me to Your Leader
- Take Me to Your Future
- Blood of the Earth
- Onward
- The Machine Stops
- Into the Woods
- Road to Utopia
- All Aboard the Skylark
- Carnivorous (as Hawkwind Light Orchestra)
- Somnia
- The Future Never Waits
- Stories from Time and Space
- The Weird Tapes
- Hawkwind, Friends and Relations
- The Text of Festival
- Zones
- Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin
- Space Ritual Volume 2
- Hawkwind Anthology
- Out & Intake
- BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
- The Friday Rock Show Sessions
- Hawklords Live
- California Brainstorm
- Undisclosed Files Addendum
- The 1999 Party
- Glastonbury 90
- Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2
- Complete '79: Collector Series Volume 1
- Atomhenge 76
- Live 1990
- Roadhawks
- Masters of the Universe
- Repeat Performance
- Angels of Death
- Spirit of the Age
- Stasis (The UA Years 1971–1975)
- Tales from Atom Henge
- Epocheclipse
- Future Reconstructions – Ritual of the Solstice
- Masters of Rock
- Spirit of the Age Anthology
- The Dream Goes On
- Hawkwind Zoo EP
- Sonic Assassins EP
- The Earth Ritual Preview
- Quark, Strangeness and Charm
- "Hurry On Sundown"
- "Silver Machine"
- "Urban Guerrilla"
- "Kings of Speed"
- "Kerb Crawler"
- "Back on the Streets"
- "Quark, Strangeness and Charm"
- "Psi Power"
- "25 Years"
- "Shot Down in the Night"
- "Who's Gonna Win the War?"
- "Spirit of the Age"
- Sonic Assassins
- Hawklords
- Space Ritual
- Hawklords (2008)