Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Alan Davey: Sputnik Stan Vol. 1: A Fistful Of Junk

6

Alan Davey: Sputnik Stan Vol. 1: A Fistful Of Junk

Alan Davey: Sputnik Stan Vol. 1: A Fistful Of Junk
The most recent solo outing by Alan Davey, Lemmy's former replacement in the space rock juggernaut Hawkwind, is a CD/colored vinyl LP that comes with a comic book. The artwork of the comic book is finely detailed and closely follows the lyrics of the songs, giving the reader and listener a vivid picture of the life of Sputnik Stan, who runs a space junk salvage operation. For the uninitiated, while there are great things in space, there is also a lot of junk, including old satellites, parts of ships, and garbage that gets ejected during missions.

A complex project, this is a solid, heavy space rocker. Davey does most of the instrumentation, along with vocalist and musician Kevin Sommers, who also created all of the artwork. The tracks on the album lead into each other with a spacey, psychedelic theme that runs throughout the story. Echoing synths with distant radio voices create the impression that Stan is isolated. In the tune "Wakey Wakey," Stan seems either stoned or bored, and confirms his feelings in the lyrics, "Some day this mission is gonna end."

On "Magnetosphere Disturbance," with voices in the distance echoing with synths like the light of stars, the music becomes darker with the lyrics, "Magnetic disturbance, just the thing I need." The rhythm of the tune drives —the music far beyond post rock —and dual guitars work over the synth background until the time stops with the sound of machinery, an alarm. On "Hubble's Looking Tasty These Days," a slow ballad about space and time shifting out of phase, Eclectic Devils and Yaga Sunet vocalist Zoie Green captures the emotion of Stan's isolation in his longing to hold a woman while he watches the Hubble telescope drift by.

The guitar melody played against the synth on "Stoic" is almost math-like, with Sommers singing the lyrics, "Don't show shame, don't show fear," reminiscent of the late Robert Calvert. While "Delysid Funky" is a mid-tempo rocker, the guitar soloing with the lyrics, "Out of the speakers sound and waves, there's nothing coming after you," "Weigh It In Tranquility" starts out rocking hard with dual guitars soloing off of each other. The rhythm is solid and driving with Davey singing the lyrics, "I'll weigh in the whole damn fleet, it's obsolete, it's a hazard."

There are often feelings conveyed of paranoia and isolation, but this isn't an album about giving up. Stan has a job to do, and he does it well. On the final tune, "18 Engines, One Mission," the guitars are driving with tremolo against heavy synths. Davey sings, "I'm set to go...I am Sputnik Stan," as he brings this chapter to an end, Stan working out a deal with someone for his cargo.

Track Listing

Wakey Wakey; Weigh It In Tranquility; Ulterior Umbra Transfer Facility; Magnetosphere Disturbance; Chuckin’ Nuts N’ Bolts Out The Air Lock; Hubble’s Looking Tasty These Days; Stoic; Delysid Funky; Tough Titties Houston; My Man On The Moon; Aluminum Titanium Uranium Magnesium; Unidentified Flying Orgasm Parts 1 & 2; 18 Engines, One Mission

Personnel

Alan Davey: vocals, bass, rhythm and lead guitars, synths, keyboards, drum programming, sampling, lyrics and script; Kevin M. Sommers: trumpet, synths, sequencer, sound FX, lyrics and script, DJ voice, vocals on "Stoic;" Zoie Green: vocals on "Hubble’s Looking Tasty These Days;" Tina Elizabeth Smith: vocals on "Unidentified Flying Orgasm Part 1;" Frank J. Morris: the voice of Sputnik Stan; Jody B. Green: the voice of Mel Function; Sarah “Sunray” Davey: the voice of Redhot; Alisa Coral: the voice of Tipsy; Christopher J. Krawczyk: the voice of Houston

Album information

Title: Sputnik Stan Vol. 1: A Fistful Of Junk | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Earthquake Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.