Rock Rarity Review: Michael Moorcock and The Deep Fix: The New World's Fair
The background to this rarity (officially still listed in remastered form here on Cherry Red but 'out of stock', so your mileage will vary - unofficial file sources may come to your rescue here) has been well covered in Brian Tawn's excellent book on Mike Moorcock's music, Dude's Dream, which I've owned from the beginning, in 1997. It's hard to find second hand these days, but Brian has said that he can be contacted on Facebook and still has copies available - so contact him while you can!
I'll attempt to summarise the background to The New World's Fair in a paragraph or two here.
Moorcock's literary prowess is his main skill, of course, with a lifetime's career in books and magazines, but that doesn't mean that his music is any the less interesting. Far more niche, but then that's what we're here for in 'Rarities'.
Having sung and played guitar in various pubs and clubs while getting his writing going, Michael Moorcock's association with rock band Hawkwind nudged him to actually record a single in 1975, 'Starcruiser' (B side 'Dodgem Dude'), with the aid of friends Graham Charnock (on bass) and Steve Gilmore (more guitar), Hawkwind friend Nik Turner (sax), and Hawkwind power-drummer Simon King.
These rock stories are typically convoluted and United Artists liked the single so much that they asked Michael for an album too (he agreed to three! But only one was ever made), then ended up publishing the album The New World's Fair but not the single! The latter would have to wait until 1980 before a release on Flicknife, though of course in retrospect all of this is now available (and remastered, largely) in various forms/discs/downloads. For this review, for example, I'm using Esoteric's 2008 remaster, with the album, single, and half a dozen bonus tracks:
For the album, Michael recruited his two mates again, Graham and Steve, plus old friend Pete Pavli on cello, plus the two Hawkwind maestros, Simon House on violin, piano, and mellotron, and Simon King on drums again.
Adding flavour were blues legend Snowy White and his bass genius side-kick Kuma Harada, plus Hawkwind's (at the time, second drummer) Alan Powell, plus the band's captain Dave Brock supplying lead guitar (on 'Last Merry Go Round') and Herbert North doing lead on 'In the name of Rock and Roll'. Plus two lady backing singers, Shirlie Roden and Debi Doss.
Apologies if those last two names have become mangled in time, they're printed slightly differently in at least three different places. Ditto the tracks on the album, in fact, since the original, secondary (2004's 'Roller Coaster Holiday'), and then remastered versions all of different track selections and order! So, again, I'm using Esoteric's remaster as my source here - it's certainly the best in terms of clarity and quality.
The concept of New World's Fair is, according to Dude's Dream:
"...a huge fairground operating as the World around crumbles. Still wheeling and dealing as though everything is OK, while the World tumbles towards extinction. All those at the fair carry on having a good time, concentrating on the moment, on the make and having fun, rather than face the facts of reality."
And so to the music. It's lyric heavy, as you'd expect from Moorcock (and friends), complete with between-track narrations and taunts (at the 'dude', the everyman). Most aren't noted below, but they precede most tracks.
- Candy Floss Cowboy (narration) (Moorcock)
A spoken word version of the first half of the song listed below (15), it sees Moorcock setting the ambience for the concept, complete with bells of doom and vocals echoing round the empty fair. But then he hears an engine cranking into life and the fair starts up... - Fair Dealer (Moorcock)
Moorcock's high voice pitches lyrics complaining to a drug dealer that what he's promising may not end well, while traditional rock bass and drums are accompanied by mandolin and violin, an unusual but interesting combination that sets the musical tone for the album.
"I got nothing you haven't seen before, so please don't bother me no more, for the hope you had when I last came to town" - Octopus (Gilmore)
A simple mid-tempo riff-thrash with stop/start sections and Gilmore intoning so-so (not up to Moorcock's standard) lyrics. Thankfully, a) it's short, and b) the interplay in the last 30 seconds between Simon King (drum rolls) and Snowy White (lead guitar) is spectacular. Where else in rock would you find these two rocking out together?? - Sixteen Year Old Doom (Moorcock)
With a sophisticated rock shuffle, and fuzz solo from Snowy White, this is a tale of an innocent and her friends and a night at fair that's way darker then you might think or she might have planned.
"She's sixteen years old with a death rattle in her throat" - You're a Hero (Charnock)
As close to pop as the album gets, here we have a traditional song structure with rock boogie, while Charnock shoe-horning a tale of 'Valhalla' heroes into the fair narrative. Just as it's getting repetitive, the song breaks into a 'part 2' in a different (minor) key, along with tacked on lyrics about fairground rides - this keeps things interesting, especially with some mournful Snowy White guitar licks as the song fades. - Song for Marlene (Shepard/Gilmore)
Beginning slowly with just a couple of guitars, this builds and builds. As with the previous song, there's no obvious connection to the concept and here there's no 'part 2' tacked on, but it's all saved by the magnificent drumming of Simon King as the song takes flight at 3:15 (with added mellotron and girly vocals), speeds up gradually, and then utterly rocks out with phased Hawkwind-y drum rolls to fade... - Come to the Fair (Charnock)
Stepping away from the rock world, this is violin and cello, plus bass - nothing else! Charnock wrote this for the concept, it seems. It's cute and short, the strings keep it 'peppy', thankfully. Listen with headphones, as violins and cello are panned hard left/right. - In the Name of Rock and Roll (Charnock)
Back to mid-tempo rock, with some tasty fills from Simon King, tasty 'give it all' lyrics, and tasty violin soloing. The connection to the fairground is introduced by the narrator as "the last band is playing"... There's a novel 'tape speed up' section at the end (now a cliche, of course).
"If you're gonna play guitar, play it like you're gonna cry, if you're gonna play the drums, play them like you're gonna die" - Ferris Wheel (Gilmore)
Mid-tempo 'doom' rock again with Gilmore doing his best Moorcock impression on vocals, plus mellotron backing, layers of girl vocals, a Snowy White solo and a weaving cello part throughout. I've no idea what the lyrics are, they're not clear enough and are doubled with a phased version an octave above, but I guess the title is enough for Moorcock to fit his mate's song in here? - Last Merry Go Round (Moorcock)
Fellow Hawkwinder Alan Powell steps in for King on drums here, with Hawkwind's captain Dave Brock on lead guitar, in a joyous 2/4 stomp as Moorcock exults on the ride, though as it stops it all goes wrong... again!
"I was whirling so fast, I was riding so high, my feet left the ground, I was lord of the sky" - Dude's Dream (Rolling in the Ruins) (Moorcock)
True apocalyptic lyrics from Mr Moorcock, not exactly Top 40 pop lyrical fare(!), to a steady rock rhythm from Alan Powell again. The chorus is epic "We're rolling in the ruins" etc. The star turn here are duelling violin and cello, again panned left/right, so it's easy to tell them apart and enjoy the stereo interplay.
"Isn't it delicious, there's a red sun in the sky, every time we see it rise, another city dies. And the bombs blow up our cemeteries, and the dead give up their graves" - Dodgem Dude (Moorcock)
The single that got the concept started, this is the dude having a whale of a time on the dodgems, gradually dulling his brain with each impact and then walking back 'through the rain'. It's Alan Powell again on drums doing his King impression, while layers of guitar hammer the main riff home... Production isn't quite as clean, this is from a different session to most of the rest of the album, having been recorded earlier. (And indeed from the Starcruiser session, despite what it says on the single artwork, since this particular track doesn't include any Nik Turner either. All a bit confusing!)
"Spill them, kill them, have your kicks and thrill them, race them, chase them, turn the car and face them"
- The Brothel in Rossenstrasse (Moorcock)
Also recorded in a separate session, somewhat after this time, this was going to be part of an EP year later, with a track called 'Time Centre' and with Moorcock's mini-opera 'The Entropy Tango'. Its inclusion on this New World's Fair remaster is very odd and I can offer no apology or explanation! Just enjoy or ignore/press 'Skip'! - Starcruiser (Moorcock)
The flip side of the original Dodgem Dude single, this sees Simon King back at the drums (hoorah) and it makes a big difference in terms of a driving rhythm, with crisp beats and plenty of rolls around the kit. It's a decent enough song, too, comparing a human passion as for a spaceship, with a rousing chorus "Starcruiser, and she was cruising me". It doesn't fit the concept but rocks along happily and sadly fades out all too quickly - apparently this was going to be the 'A' side of the single originally and then it got flipped when Flicknife finally released it. Also notable is Michael's main Hawkwind mate Nik Turner on sax throughout.
"We set off through space at a moderate rate, going faster than light but not worried, I wondered a mite 'bout my forthcoming fate, she was pulsing out fire while her gauges went higher, than anything I could believe in."
- Candy Floss Cowboy (song) (Moorcock)
Yes, the lyrics are familiar, since they're the narration from track 1 above, but here set to mid-tempo rock (King on drums, so it shuffles along nicely) and with another couple of verses. Some tasteful slide guitar and mellotron add atmosphere, and some versions of this album have this sequenced right after the starting narration. So err.. pick your own track sequence - there's no right answer!
"The fairground's all dark and dead, a light flickers on, then goes off again, an engine begins to hum, you wait for the thrum, which will bring you to life for an hour or two" - Kings of Speed (Moorcock)
Dave Brock and Moorcock were collaborating here at one point, but then Dave threw out a load of lyrics and wrote his own Hawkwind boogie version (which appeared on the album Warrior at the Edge of time). Meanwhile here's Moorcock's own take on lyrics and music, which have a very different feel, despite being powered by the same drummer (King). The words reference several Jerry Cornelius characters - another example of most Moorcock-ian things being related! There's a somewhat strangled solo from Snowy White and a 'demo'-ish 'first take' feel to proceedings, but it all feels fresh and exciting still, almost 50 years later.
"You're gonna get a tasty trip on Frank and Beesley's rocket ship, the biggest attraction, the brightest star, boys you're going fast and far" - You're a Hero (demo) (Charnock)
An earlier version of the pop tune above, this is taken slower and with a syncopated double-strummed rhythm. Although it doesn't work as well, there's a lovely little elegiac guitar solo near the end that's worth waiting for! - Dodgem Dude (demo) (Moorcock)
I prefer this version to the single, actually, with better drumming (Simon King), and with a less muddy mix. It fades out all too quickly, but is well worth a listen.
Summing The New World's Fair up as 'patchy' is perhaps too critical, though the fact that (deep breath) there's no official running order for the main tracks, that several of these weren't even on the album on first release, that there are two different versions for at least two of the songs, that the band members chop and change according to exactly when the songs were recorded, that over half the album doesn't really have much Moorcock on it, as such... These factors all point to a lack of cohesion, especially for something that's supposed to be a 'concept' album.
Having said that, I still find it very enjoyable and interesting. I want to hear Moorcock's lyrics, his voice, his world view. I want to hear the two Simons; House and King, Hawkwind keyboards/violin and drums respectively. And even all the Charnock and Gilmore songs (with them as vocalists) should be approached from the point of view of them being Moorcock's closest musical friends and that he trusted them - so we perhaps should too.
Put New World's Fair into the context of the mid-1970s, when the establishment really did seem to be crumbling, and you can enjoy again Moorcock's extrapolation through to the end times. In music!
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