Doremi Fasol Latido
Encyclopedia
Doremi Fasol Latido is the third studio album from Hawkwind
, released in 1972. It reached #14 on the UK album charts.
, both of whose style differed notably from their predecessors. This changed the band's overall musical direction. Lemmy was a self-confessed inept guitarist who used volume and stagecraft to cover his lack of ability. He became a bassist by accident after joining the band, thinking he was replacing Huw Lloyd Langton. Lemmy said "I knew the guitarist because he took eight tabs of acid and then we never saw him for five years". However Dave Brock decided to play lead and continue without a second guitarist. Hawkwind's bass guitarist failed to turn up and Lemmy was available. He said "I learned to play bass onstage with Hawkwind… I go out onstage with this bass around my neck, and it was a Rickenbacker, too. The bass player, like an idiot, left his bass in the truck. So I'm learning. Nik Turner says to make some noises in E. 'This one's called You Shouldn't Do That.' Then he walks away." This led to Lemmy's very unorthodox technique. Lemmy stated "I just don't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not like having a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist." King's drumming was more square beat and "rock" than the jazzier free flowing Ollis.
was in its infancy and the environment at the time was spartan, Lemmy explaining that they "recorded it at the barn, before they modernised it, with mattresses on the walls and things." Some band members have expressed concerns with the quality of the production, Simon King feeling that "It sounded as if all the bass was turned off, your amp wasn’t working properly and your stereo was bunged up all at the same time." and Lemmy adding "It was just not very well recorded. It was all thin and tinny."
Dave Brock explained their method of working as "we recorded bass, guitar, drums and vocals together, so it's as live as it can be, and then we put on the other things afterwards... We just let the tapes run and play like we do when we're playing live; do a three-hour track and then cut it up into pieces, use one piece as a complete section, and join it up to another piece with a synthesiser link or something... It's improvised, but it's together in the first place."
's drum solo in 1980). Before its appearance on this album, it was recorded on 2 August 1972 at the BBC's Maida Vale studio for broadcast on the Johnnie Walker
show along with "Silver Machine
", followed by an appearance on the In Concert hour long BBC broadcast from the Paris Cinema on 28 September 1972. It has almost remained an ever present in the live set with numerous live versions being released and has been covered by Monster Magnet
on their 1993 album Superjudge
.
"Space Is Deep" lyrics are derived from Michael Moorcock
's "Black Corridor" poem. The first vocal part is an acoustic piece played by both Brock (on 12-string) and Lemmy with layered electronic effects, the second instrumental part being the full band in an electric workout, finally returning to an acoustic coda. It was dropped from the live set during 1973 as the band moved away from the Space Ritual show, only briefly being resurrected for some reunion shows during 2000, a version of which can be heard on the Yule Ritual
album.
"One Change" is a brief sedate instrumental featuring a heavily echoed keyboard contribution from Dettmar.
An edited version of "Lord of Light" (see Zelazny's 'Lord of Light
) was released as a single in Germany (UA35492, June 1973) backed by an edited version of "Born to Go" from the Greasy Truckers Party
album. It was dropped from the live set in the mid-1970s, but reinstated for the 1995 "Alien 4" tour, a version being released as the B-side to the 1997 single "Love in Space".
"Down Through the Night" is another Brock acoustic number with layered electronics, flute and reverse echoed vocals. For the Space Ritual set it featured the full electric band.
"Time We Left (This World Today)" is a song in four movements, the first being a chanted Call and response
bemoaning the direction society was heading in the same vein Brock was exploring with "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago" and "Psychedelic Warlords". The second movement is an instrumental dissonance
passage leading into the third movement featuring a powerful bass guitar and lead guitar interchange, eventually returning to the first movement. It appeared in the Space Ritual set with "Paranoia" replacing the middle section, and also made an appearance during 1989-91 with "Heads" as the middle section, as can be heard on Palace Springs
.
"The Watcher" is Lemmy's first composition for Hawkwind, this being a spacious acoustic number with fuzz-bass. The lyrics were written from the perspective of someone from afar (perhaps God or an alien master race) watching the inhabitants of Earth destroy themselves through their own greed. This is the only song from the album that wasn't featured in the Space Ritual set, but it did briefly make an appearance during 1973 and 1974 as can be heard on The 1999 Party
, slightly rearranged as a more uptempo band performance. Lemmy would re-record the song with Motörhead on their 1977 debut album Motorhead
.
and is a continuation on themes he introduced with X in Search of Space carried through and culminating in the Space Ritual
. The title refers to the assignment of syllables
to steps of the diatonic scale (Do-Re-Mi
, etc.). It alludes to the music of the spheres
which Bubbles expounds upon:
The original cover came in a silver foil sleeve with black print, the front depicting a shield which became an ident for the band, being used on many other album and single covers. The rear cover, inner sleeve and poster depict barbarian-type warriors in futuristic settings. The back cover includes in the legend:
The legend tells of the Hawklords last and defeated stand against the "tyranny of the corrupt forces for law and evil", but the inner sleeve has redemption in the legend:
in the NME
confessing "I'd be ashamed to say I didn't love it" describing the music as one chord short of "the strongest high energy cosmic hubcap this side of the Metal Zone". Andrew Means of Melody Maker
commented that "It's not melody and it's not harmony, and it's not really rhythm... it is ambiguity. It is the spaced out slipstream, the rushing, gurgling torrent of weightless sound that first turns the circle of mental pictures, associations and impressions picked out from space, time and earth... The listener is as much a traveller as the musician." Sounds
' Martin Hayman meanwhile described the music as "the bass and drums batter on with unflagging pace, synthesisers swirl and whistle around the thunderous block riffs whose endless repetition generates that numbed hypnosis, tuneless and menacing voices incant largely incomprehensible lyrics. This is not to knock Hawkwind: the sound they are getting is thicker, fuller, more convincing than ever before. Its total effect is pretty devastating, but the means by which the effect is achieved is no revolution in sound."
Additional musicians
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
, released in 1972. It reached #14 on the UK album charts.
New Members
The rhythm section of Dave Anderson and Terry Ollis was replaced by Lemmy and Simon KingSimon King (musician)
Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine 'Sounds' as 'definitive rock drummer.'...
, both of whose style differed notably from their predecessors. This changed the band's overall musical direction. Lemmy was a self-confessed inept guitarist who used volume and stagecraft to cover his lack of ability. He became a bassist by accident after joining the band, thinking he was replacing Huw Lloyd Langton. Lemmy said "I knew the guitarist because he took eight tabs of acid and then we never saw him for five years". However Dave Brock decided to play lead and continue without a second guitarist. Hawkwind's bass guitarist failed to turn up and Lemmy was available. He said "I learned to play bass onstage with Hawkwind… I go out onstage with this bass around my neck, and it was a Rickenbacker, too. The bass player, like an idiot, left his bass in the truck. So I'm learning. Nik Turner says to make some noises in E. 'This one's called You Shouldn't Do That.' Then he walks away." This led to Lemmy's very unorthodox technique. Lemmy stated "I just don't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not like having a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist." King's drumming was more square beat and "rock" than the jazzier free flowing Ollis.
Sound and Production
Rockfield StudiosRockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
was in its infancy and the environment at the time was spartan, Lemmy explaining that they "recorded it at the barn, before they modernised it, with mattresses on the walls and things." Some band members have expressed concerns with the quality of the production, Simon King feeling that "It sounded as if all the bass was turned off, your amp wasn’t working properly and your stereo was bunged up all at the same time." and Lemmy adding "It was just not very well recorded. It was all thin and tinny."
Dave Brock explained their method of working as "we recorded bass, guitar, drums and vocals together, so it's as live as it can be, and then we put on the other things afterwards... We just let the tapes run and play like we do when we're playing live; do a three-hour track and then cut it up into pieces, use one piece as a complete section, and join it up to another piece with a synthesiser link or something... It's improvised, but it's together in the first place."
Songs
"Brainstorm" is Turner's first sole composition for the band and features an extended middle section that would be reworked throughout the years (including Ginger BakerGinger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
's drum solo in 1980). Before its appearance on this album, it was recorded on 2 August 1972 at the BBC's Maida Vale studio for broadcast on the Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker (DJ)
Johnnie Walker MBE is a popular British veteran radio disc jockey and broadcaster....
show along with "Silver Machine
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 #3 on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, 1978 reaching #34 on the UK singles charts, and in 1983 reaching #67 on the UK singles charts...
", followed by an appearance on the In Concert hour long BBC broadcast from the Paris Cinema on 28 September 1972. It has almost remained an ever present in the live set with numerous live versions being released and has been covered by Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf , John McBain and Tim Cronin...
on their 1993 album Superjudge
Superjudge
Superjudge is an album by Monster Magnet, released on April 6, 1993 .-Overview:Superjudge was Monster Magnet's second official album and also their debut for A&M Records. It was recorded and mixed by Steve Rosenthal at New York's "The Magic Shop" studio in October, 1992...
.
"Space Is Deep" lyrics are derived from Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
's "Black Corridor" poem. The first vocal part is an acoustic piece played by both Brock (on 12-string) and Lemmy with layered electronic effects, the second instrumental part being the full band in an electric workout, finally returning to an acoustic coda. It was dropped from the live set during 1973 as the band moved away from the Space Ritual show, only briefly being resurrected for some reunion shows during 2000, a version of which can be heard on the Yule Ritual
Yule Ritual
Yule Ritual is a 2001 live album by Hawkwind.-Track listing:#"Electronic Intro" – 4:27#"Levitation" – 8:47#"Spacebrock" – 6:08#"Space Is Deep" – 5:45...
album.
"One Change" is a brief sedate instrumental featuring a heavily echoed keyboard contribution from Dettmar.
An edited version of "Lord of Light" (see Zelazny's 'Lord of Light
Lord of Light
Lord of Light is an epic science fiction/fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters from the novel were published as novelettes in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science...
) was released as a single in Germany (UA35492, June 1973) backed by an edited version of "Born to Go" from the Greasy Truckers Party
Greasy Truckers Party
Greasy Truckers Party is a 1972 live album by various artists recorded at a February 1972 Greasy Truckers concert at the Roundhouse in London. The concert featured three bands, Man, Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind, and musician Magic Michael...
album. It was dropped from the live set in the mid-1970s, but reinstated for the 1995 "Alien 4" tour, a version being released as the B-side to the 1997 single "Love in Space".
"Down Through the Night" is another Brock acoustic number with layered electronics, flute and reverse echoed vocals. For the Space Ritual set it featured the full electric band.
"Time We Left (This World Today)" is a song in four movements, the first being a chanted Call and response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
bemoaning the direction society was heading in the same vein Brock was exploring with "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago" and "Psychedelic Warlords". The second movement is an instrumental dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
passage leading into the third movement featuring a powerful bass guitar and lead guitar interchange, eventually returning to the first movement. It appeared in the Space Ritual set with "Paranoia" replacing the middle section, and also made an appearance during 1989-91 with "Heads" as the middle section, as can be heard on Palace Springs
Palace Springs (album)
Palace Springs is a 1991 live/studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind.Although released in 1991, this album was recorded in 1989 prior to the previous album Space Bandits...
.
"The Watcher" is Lemmy's first composition for Hawkwind, this being a spacious acoustic number with fuzz-bass. The lyrics were written from the perspective of someone from afar (perhaps God or an alien master race) watching the inhabitants of Earth destroy themselves through their own greed. This is the only song from the album that wasn't featured in the Space Ritual set, but it did briefly make an appearance during 1973 and 1974 as can be heard on The 1999 Party
The 1999 Party
The '1999' Party is a live album by Hawkwind recorded at the Chicago Auditorium Theatre on 21 March 1974 released retrospectively in November 1997 by EMI. It was issued for the first time as part of EMI's re-releasing re-mastered versions of the Hawkwind back catalogue...
, slightly rearranged as a more uptempo band performance. Lemmy would re-record the song with Motörhead on their 1977 debut album Motorhead
Motörhead (album)
Motörhead is the debut album by the British heavy metal band Motörhead, released in 1977.-History:On April 1, 1977, after nearly two years of toiling in obscurity hoping for a record deal, Motörhead decided to perform their last show at the Marquee Club in London. They asked Ted Carroll, head of...
.
Title, sleeve and philosophy
The package was put together and titled by graphic artist Barney BubblesBarney Bubbles
Colin Fulcher aka Barney Bubbles was a radical English graphic artist, whose work primarily encompassed the disciplines of graphic design, painting and music video direction. He is most renowned for his distinctive contribution to the graphic design associated with the British independent music...
and is a continuation on themes he introduced with X in Search of Space carried through and culminating in the Space Ritual
Space Ritual
The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London is a 1973 live double album recorded in 1972 by UK rock band Hawkwind. It is their fourth album, reached #9 in the UK album charts and briefly dented the Billboard Top 200, peaking at #179....
. The title refers to the assignment of syllables
Solfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
to steps of the diatonic scale (Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after...
, etc.). It alludes to the music of the spheres
Musica universalis
Musica universalis is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica . This 'music' is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic and/or mathematical and/or religious concept...
which Bubbles expounds upon:
- "The basic principle for the starship and the space ritual is based on the Pythagorean concept of sound. Briefly, this conceived the Universe to be an immense monochord, with its single string stretched between absolute spirit and at its lowest end - absolute matter. Along this string were positioned the planets of our solar system. Each of these spheres as it rushed through space was believed to sound a certain tone caused by its continuous displacement of the ether. These intervals and harmonies are called 'The Sound Of The Spheres.' The interval between Earth and the fixed stars being the most perfect harmonic interval."
- Do - Mars - red
- Re - Sun - orange
- Mi - Mercury - yellow
- Fa - Saturn - green
- So - Jupiter - blue
- La - Venus - Indigo
- Ti - Moon - violet
The original cover came in a silver foil sleeve with black print, the front depicting a shield which became an ident for the band, being used on many other album and single covers. The rear cover, inner sleeve and poster depict barbarian-type warriors in futuristic settings. The back cover includes in the legend:
- The Saga of Doremi Fasol Latido is a collection of ritualistic space chants, battle hymns and stellar songs of praise as used by the family clan of Hawkwind on their epic journey to the fabled land of Thorasin.
The legend tells of the Hawklords last and defeated stand against the "tyranny of the corrupt forces for law and evil", but the inner sleeve has redemption in the legend:
- And in the fullness of time, the prophecy must be fulfilled and the Hawklords shall return to smite the land. And the dark forces shall be scourged, the cities razed and made into parks. Peace shall come to everyone. For is it not written that the sword is key to Heaven and Hell?
Critical Reaction
The UK music press warmly received the album, Nick KentNick Kent
Nick Kent is a British rock critic and musician.-Career:Along with writers including Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray and Danny Baker, Nick Kent is seen as one of the most important and influential UK music journalists of the 1970s. He wrote for the British music publication New Musical Express,...
in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
confessing "I'd be ashamed to say I didn't love it" describing the music as one chord short of "the strongest high energy cosmic hubcap this side of the Metal Zone". Andrew Means of Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
commented that "It's not melody and it's not harmony, and it's not really rhythm... it is ambiguity. It is the spaced out slipstream, the rushing, gurgling torrent of weightless sound that first turns the circle of mental pictures, associations and impressions picked out from space, time and earth... The listener is as much a traveller as the musician." Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
' Martin Hayman meanwhile described the music as "the bass and drums batter on with unflagging pace, synthesisers swirl and whistle around the thunderous block riffs whose endless repetition generates that numbed hypnosis, tuneless and menacing voices incant largely incomprehensible lyrics. This is not to knock Hawkwind: the sound they are getting is thicker, fuller, more convincing than ever before. Its total effect is pretty devastating, but the means by which the effect is achieved is no revolution in sound."
Side 1
- "Brainstorm" (Nik TurnerNik TurnerNik Turner is a British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner plays saxophones, flute, sings and is a composer...
) – 11:33 - "Space Is Deep" (Dave BrockDave BrockDavid Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
) – 6:22 - "One Change" (Del Dettmar) – 0:49
Side 2
- "Lord of Light" (Brock) – 6:59
- "Down Through the Night" (Brock) – 3:04
- "Time We Left This World Today" (Brock) – 8:43
- "The Watcher" (Ian Kilmister) – 4:00
Bonus tracks on Remasters CD
- "Urban Guerrilla" (Robert CalvertRobert CalvertRobert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
/Brock) – 3:41 - "Brainbox Pollution" (Brock) – 5:42
- "Lord of Light" [Single Version Edit] (Brock) – 3:59
- "Ejection" (Calvert) – 3:47
Musicians
- Dave BrockDave BrockDavid Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
– 6 and 12 string acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals - Nik TurnerNik TurnerNik Turner is a British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner plays saxophones, flute, sings and is a composer...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, vocals - Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, acoustic guitar and vocals on "Space is Deep" and "The Watcher" - Dik Mik (Michael Davies) – SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Del DettmarDel DettmarDel Dettmar is best known as synthesizer and keyboard player with the English space rock band Hawkwind from 1971 to 1974....
– SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Simon KingSimon King (musician)Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine 'Sounds' as 'definitive rock drummer.'...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- Robert CalvertRobert CalvertRobert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
– vocals on "Urban Guerilla" and "Ejection" - Paul RudolphPaul Rudolph (musician)Paul Fraser Rudolph is a guitarist,bassist, singer, and cyclist. He made his mark in the UK underground music scene, and then as a session musician, before returning to Canada to indulge his passion for cycling...
– guitars on "Ejection"
Production
- Recorded at Rockfield, Wales, September and October. Produced by Brock and Dettmar.
- Sleeve designed by Barney Bubbles.
- "Urban Guerrilla" and "Brainbox Pollution" recorded at Olympic Studios, 1973
Release history
- Nov-1972: United Artists Records, UAG29364, UK vinyl - original issues came in black on silver foil single sleeve, with inner sleeve and foldout Star Rats poster. Subsequent issues were a simple single sleeve.
- Jan-1981: Liberty Records, UAG29364, UK vinyl
- Aug-1986: Liberty Records, ATAK92, UK vinyl
- Jul-1991: One Way Records, CDLL 57475, USA CD
- Mar-1996: EMI Remaster, HAWKS3, UK CD - initial copies came in digipak
- Mar-2003: EMI Records, 3823682, UK 2CD - with X in Search of Space
- 11 October 2010: Rock Classics, UK, 2x12" grey vinyl 1000 copies
External links
- Collectable Records - Original cover, inner sleeve and poster