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Despite making a momentary splash with single In the Meantime and follow-up Cruel to be Kind, Spacehog has always been positioned just outside the mainstream. Whether or not this is a conscious effort is a point to be pondered but despite what appear to be their best efforts the space-glam-rock of the New York band has largely been ignored.
There have been moments of fleeting brilliance scattered throughout the band’s three albums. No one disc has connected entirely, but all things considered I believe Spacehog to be something of a gem in the rough. Of course, all members are currently pursuing solo careers or side projects so the prospect of new material is bleak (plus, there’s the whole thing with them mutually deciding to part ways). So for now listeners are left with three albums released over the course of six years—Resident Alien (1995), The Chinese Album (1998), and most recently the disappointing The Hogyssey from 2001.
Royston Langdon is best known as Mr. Liv Tyler (as of 2003), but in his role as bassist and vocalist for Spacehog he excelled. His conscious swagger and biting humor were both apparent on so many of the band’s songs. A bit less apparent is that the hits and the albums were a group effort initially spurred on by guitarist Antony Langdon and drummer Johnny Cragg and only later by guitarist Richard Steel and Royston Langdon. As much as I previously held respect for Spacehog, I can’t help but think that The Hogyssey is a misguided attempt at reclaiming the band’s early chart success.
Why misguided? Well, one needs to look no further than the title track to find an answer. A strange, unnecessary update of the Richard Strauss 2001: A Space Odyssey theme Also Sprach Zarathustra. I suppose that in theory, Spacehog could have done a good job though in the end their updated, rehashed, and ridiculous just helps to put the album in the same category as all too many forgettable and self-important artists. The spacey, retro song is just boring and in poor taste.
By so narrowly focusing on that one troubling track, I am by no means pretending that the other songs don’t exist. In all fairness, early songs I Want to Live, A Real Waste of Food, and even album opener Jupiter’s Moon are all mildly inviting. In particular, I Want to Live should strike the deepest chord in listeners. By itself it really isn’t an outstanding song—rather it is merely the best thing available here however you slice it apart. The song is cut from the same chipper, gutsy grain as In the Meantime and thus is nice to listen to. But is it a classic? No way.
Outside of those four songs already mentioned, there is little to say for Spacehog. The band has always drawn upon gram rockers and popsters of yore like David Bowie and T. Rex to name a few. The Hogyssey is an extension of this tendency, but instead of further tweaking their sound, the band has reverted back to their tried and true roots. Maybe it would have worked if this time around there was a little emotion and some catchy songwriting. Alas, the majority of the band’s third album is average at best and at worst forgettable derivative of their own often forgotten (and for good reason) material. There’s so much skippable filler here that it is not worth the effort of mentioning.
My main suggestion would be to simply skip over this album. There are most definitely worse things out there but if you want to retain any respect for Spacehog then it is necessary to completely ignore The Hogyssey. Pretend as though it never happened and pretend as though the band faded into history gracefully after The Chinese Album. Believe me…it’s better that way...
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