Our paths have crossed before during my time as a reviewer. Michael Moorcock writes the foreword for this 514-page tome (with CD – see Interview with Don) that tells you everything about Don Falcone, and you can tell how close the connection is by the detail Moorcock goes into in his foreword. As a student, like many of my peers, I used to devour Moorcock’s books, so it seems that the author and I have travelled on similar trajectories although separated by an ocean and a considerable number of miles. But, as we all know, the arts shrink the world. On the book sleeve we are told that Don Falcone inhabits “a world where anything can happen and often does”. I know that feeling well!
Let’s start at the end: the comprehensive discography of all the musical projects Don has been involved in. Next, let’s take the penultimate part of the book where Don lists in alphabetical order all of the musicians he has ever collaborated with in Spirits Burning. I have reviewed albums by many of them: Jay Tausig, William Kopecky, Quarkspace and, as readers of DISS know well, Santtu Laakso and Jonathan Segel. Some are less well known, others more so, but all are very significant. Leafing through the pages I come across Simon House and Pete Pavli, once of High Tide, whose unique music became an acquired taste for me from a relatively young age; another of my musical heroes, and Steve Hillage, whose albums I bought when they were released and I still have, in this instance contributing to an album entitled “Impressionistic Symphony” by Cyrille Verdeaux, of Clearlight fame.
But it is mainly the Spirits Burning project, instigated by Don Falcone, which connects the dots, and involved ex Hawkwind singer Bridget Wishart, and the aforementioned Hawkwind collaborator Michael Moorcock whose marvellous trilogy “Dancers at The End of Time” was put to music and whose ‘An Alien Heat’ was also given the Spirits Burning treatment. Gong-ers Daevid Allen and Didier Malherbe are also mentioned in dispatches. We read about Judge Smith (of Van Der Graaf etc) and one-time Groundhogs drummer Ken Pustelnik turning up at a Spirits Burning gig at Widcombe Social Club in Bath. Don is clearly well connected and respected. To quote from the book: “I picked up Nik Turner on a 2012 morning, Nik was staying at a place north of Golden Gate Park. Nicky Garratt (ex UK Subs) answered the door in a robe (His new band were opening for Nik and providing backing musicians for Nik himself). Nik packed two saxes and a flute and we headed to my home studio. The sessions with Nik went well. My time with him confirmed his sweetness. He still had peace and love to give.” “Don also reveals that the first Hawkwind musician to be part of Spirits Burning was Robert Calvert (posthumously).” Other musicians mentioned are Ade Shaw, Alan Davey, Steve Swindells and Harvey Bainbridge, all Hawkwind alumni of course. Nic Potter, John Ellis and Nick Saloman also feature, and Peter Hammill is revealed as a big influence on Don’s musical approach.
This fascinating and meticulously detailed book reads like a diary and is packed with detailed logistical information on rehearsals, the gigs pre- and post-performance, as well as the production and post-production of albums. You can well imagine you are actually in the room as events unfold. It is the kind of book to appreciate in bitesize portions and to delve into when the mood takes you and is essential for fans of space rock and more progressively inclined music appreciators. Most of all, “One of the Spirits Burning” is an important revelation of a first class ‘underground’ rock history that deserves to be more widely known and appreciated.
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