HR067 - Alien Planetscapes - Equinox & Astral Vacations — C90 — 1988
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
Alien Planetscapes may have rivaled Hawkwind for having the most members throughout the band’s history. The late great Doug ‘Dr Synth’ Walker was always the visionary and ship commander, starting with a series of duo, primarily electronic collaborations, before moving on to the ‘Big Band’ format that sometimes consisted of as many as 6 or 7 members. Equinox & Astral Vacations features a double dose of the duo collaborations.
Side A (‘Equinox’) is a lengthy workout with Doug and Louis Boone (sadly also passed). Side B (‘Astral Vacations’) is yet another epic exploration with Doug and Carl Howard (still very much with us). Instrumentation throughout includes synthesizers, percussion, tapes, effects, flute and gliss guitar.
‘Equinox’ kicks off with effects that hint at flying saucers zipping through space, but also what sounds like aquatic Caribbean percussion. Soon the percussion merges with insect sounds and piercing sonic waves to create the feel of a tribal ceremony held in an alien bird sanctuary. The journey is busy and intense, with fluttering waves of cosmic effects that sound like swarms of electronic birds soaring and dive bombing. The percussion takes a back seat at times, overpowered by ear piercing laser beams, whizzing and wavering electronics, sparks flying, radio signals and other effects. The intensity level gets downright hair-raising! It’s simultaneously battle-in-space, alien zoo soundtrack, boiling cosmic cauldron, and mad doctor laboratory running at full power.
‘Astral Vacations’ is a more purely floating space electronic excursion, though it’s also as much of an effects master class as most Alien Planetscapes recordings typically were. Early on we get a tasty combination of sequenced patterns, whizzing effects, and haunting organ and atmospherics. At times it sounds like a Phantom of the Opera version of early Tangerine Dream. I often felt like I was floating amongst billions of stars, bobbing and weaving to avoid the various projectiles that crossed my path. Another part I enjoyed sounds like an interstellar harmonica call-to-prayer, punctuated by buzzing drone pulses which are soon taken over by a ghostly drone melody. Another part sounds like a cosmic flute solo propelled by robotic electro dance pulses. The overall feel is darkly subdued, and I merrily floated along with the dreamily drugged, drifting melodies that trip along surrounded by halos of effects.
Additional historical note: After Doug Walker passed away in 2006, Chris Phinney reissued this tape as a 2-CDR set along with several other Alien Planetscapes tapes that were on the Harsh Reality label. The CDR reissues were distributed through the Aural Innovations Space Rock mail order and all proceeds passed on to Doug’s son Evan Walker.
Alien Planetscapes may have rivaled Hawkwind for having the most members throughout the band’s history. The late great Doug ‘Dr Synth’ Walker was always the visionary and ship commander, starting with a series of duo, primarily electronic collaborations, before moving on to the ‘Big Band’ format that sometimes consisted of as many as 6 or 7 members. Equinox & Astral Vacations features a double dose of the duo collaborations.
Side A (‘Equinox’) is a lengthy workout with Doug and Louis Boone (sadly also passed). Side B (‘Astral Vacations’) is yet another epic exploration with Doug and Carl Howard (still very much with us). Instrumentation throughout includes synthesizers, percussion, tapes, effects, flute and gliss guitar.
‘Equinox’ kicks off with effects that hint at flying saucers zipping through space, but also what sounds like aquatic Caribbean percussion. Soon the percussion merges with insect sounds and piercing sonic waves to create the feel of a tribal ceremony held in an alien bird sanctuary. The journey is busy and intense, with fluttering waves of cosmic effects that sound like swarms of electronic birds soaring and dive bombing. The percussion takes a back seat at times, overpowered by ear piercing laser beams, whizzing and wavering electronics, sparks flying, radio signals and other effects. The intensity level gets downright hair-raising! It’s simultaneously battle-in-space, alien zoo soundtrack, boiling cosmic cauldron, and mad doctor laboratory running at full power.
‘Astral Vacations’ is a more purely floating space electronic excursion, though it’s also as much of an effects master class as most Alien Planetscapes recordings typically were. Early on we get a tasty combination of sequenced patterns, whizzing effects, and haunting organ and atmospherics. At times it sounds like a Phantom of the Opera version of early Tangerine Dream. I often felt like I was floating amongst billions of stars, bobbing and weaving to avoid the various projectiles that crossed my path. Another part I enjoyed sounds like an interstellar harmonica call-to-prayer, punctuated by buzzing drone pulses which are soon taken over by a ghostly drone melody. Another part sounds like a cosmic flute solo propelled by robotic electro dance pulses. The overall feel is darkly subdued, and I merrily floated along with the dreamily drugged, drifting melodies that trip along surrounded by halos of effects.
Additional historical note: After Doug Walker passed away in 2006, Chris Phinney reissued this tape as a 2-CDR set along with several other Alien Planetscapes tapes that were on the Harsh Reality label. The CDR reissues were distributed through the Aural Innovations Space Rock mail order and all proceeds passed on to Doug’s son Evan Walker.