Re: The Well CXIII: The Wrath of bluesbend
Awesome video, but that may be one of the craziest songs I've ever heard.
It comes from this [ 1974 ]
Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters was a 1974
satirical concept album by
Robert Calvert, the former frontman of British space-rock band
Hawkwind. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes.
The concept was based on the German Air Ministry's purchase of the
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, colloquially known as the
Widowmaker. In German service these planes had a poor safety record, with 207 of almost 1,300 Luftwaffe Starfighters lost in accidents during the aircraft's time in service, which lasted from the early 1960s until the mid 1980s.
[1] The Starfighters had inherently challenging flight characteristics, possibly made worse by a number of ill-considered modifications made by the manufacturers at the behest of the Germans in order to clinch the sale.[
citation needed]
Musicians who appeared on the album include members of
Hawkwind,
The Pink Fairies,
Brian Eno (although not credited as Eno),
Arthur Brown and Adrian Wagner. The spoken sketches are primarily performed by Calvert,
Viv Stanshall and
Jim Capaldi.
"Ejection" (coupled with "Catch a Falling Starfighter") was released as a single, although both songs are slightly different versions to those on the album. "The Widow's Song" was included in the libretto and Calvert had hoped to record it with
Nico singing. It wasn't recorded at the time but it was eventually recorded in 1984 with Calvert's wife Jill Riches on lead vocals and included on the
Hawkwind, Friends and Relations compilation.
The album has been re-released in the late 1990s by
BGO Records and is currently available on Ecletic Records (ECLCD1056) with bonus tracks.
