The New World's Fair is what happened when young Author Michael Moorcock got together with The Deep Fix a duo of Ladbroke Grove heads Steve Gilmore and Graham Charnock, along with his friends from Hawkwind Dave Brock, Snowy White, Nik Turner, Simon House, Simon King, Pete Pavli and Alan Powell. The Album was engineered by Vic Maile with classic Barney Bubbles artwork. This reeks of the Portobello Road hippy scene of the 60's and 70's before it got all gentrified. The album is set on the fairgrounds that all the band members like to hang out at in the early 70's. This edition adds two more songs to the 2008 re-issue and presents the album in a different running order.
The album opens with Dodgem Dude a psychedelic prog groover with a deep driving beat for all the fun and games of the Dodgems Dude to unfold, sparks flying. Starcruiser is space pop rocking in a Sensational Alex Harvey vein, they cruise each other and some very 70's style easy action happens in time to the honking sax.
Candy Floss Cowboy (Demo) is slower borderline distressed dissolute meanderings, with spectral organ and collapsing drums while they try to take a ride on the wall of death. Candy Floss Cowboy is a far darker and shorter tale of despair.
Fair Dealer is a conversation with the main man about what he's going give you, to trip you out on grass, love and ideals among other delights, thankfully no amount of gentrification has stopped these conversations happening on Portobello Road, the dealer man still survives, still wanting to ride on the wall of death.
Octopus may be a fairground ride, but it could also be your friend whose got hands like an Octopus, whenever he is with a woman, the fuzzy guitars drive it loosely along. Sixteen Year Old Doom is a frightening shock rocker, describing a very young junkie on a downward spiral, heading for a quick exit, doing whatever she needs to for the next fix.
You're A Hero is an upbeat song for a hero who is of course Valhalla bound, this has a light blues feel and could easily be used for inspirational uplifting motivational cult video. Song For Marlene seems to share some inspiration with the same Marlene that Kevin Coyne sang about, while being a touch more frazzled and slowly evocative.
Come To The Fair is a fiddle led English folk song with a Fairport Convention edge with some more of the narration to introduce the last band who are playing In The Name Of Rock & Roll, an explainer of what life is like, if you're in a rock & roll band, this has prominent harmony backing vocals and a gentle riff under the fuzzy violin solo and a frantic climax for the final words.
Ferris Wheel turns slowly like an oil wheel taking us, via a choir of heavenly angels, high up in the sky with baleful strings adding piquancy. They end up at the Last Merry Go Round a full-on psychedelic freak out, a driving beat and the vocals and guitars get freakier and freakier.
Dude's Dream (Rolling In The Ruins) this sounds like a walk around London in the 60's and 70's with bomb sites still littering neighbourhood's like Notting Hill, the wastelands, including my great grandparents shop replaced by the Westaway, they are dreaming of a world without bombed out ruins to roll around in.
Kings Of Speed (Demo) is freaked out psychedelic space rock epic, for someone whose hoovered up all the space dust they can find. You're a Hero (Demo) has a funkier edge to the album version, still perfect for an upbeat motivational cult video. The demo of Dodgem Dude is slightly more restrained driving freaked out rocker.
Brothel In Rosenstrasse is every bit as seedy and 70's in sound and execution that you might expect, sleazy and greasy guitars and vocals take us for a trip inside those wicked walls. Good Girl, Bad Girl has almost operatic vocals for a dark depiction of 70's morals and shenanigans, how you could be encouraged to be both good and bad girl simultaneously, while becoming a woman before she should have. The album closes with Time Centre an electro-pop dance tune with a great repetitive beat and groove to dance off into the night with.
Find out more at https://www.thinklikeakey.com/format/1865885-the-new-worlds-fair-50th-anniversary-edition
