Hot off a U.K. tour highlighted not only by riots, but also by the merciless on-stage slaying of
Huesker Due
at the American hardcore band's first ever British show,
Nik Turner
and
Inner City Unit
were poised to deliver the greatest album of their entire career. Instead they turned in one of the most disappointing records in the entire
Hawkwind
family tree, a disheveled, featureless, and melody-less gaggle of half-songs highlighted by two numbers (
"Birdland"
"Forbidden Planet"
) but so hamstrung by the other eight that, even today, it's difficult to discern quite what they were trying to do. Later, it became apparent that difficulties with
Demi Monde
, the label set up by another former
alumnus,
Dave Anderson
, played a part in the record's overall demeanor, but even that understanding cannot wipe away the disappointment. Indeed, if
Turner
and company hadn't bounced back with the superlative
President's Tape
, even fans would have trouble remembering them with affection today. ~ Dave Thompson