Spirit of the Age is a 1988 compilation album by the British space rock

Space rock

Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...

 group Hawkwind

Hawkwind

Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....

 covering their Charisma Records

Charisma Records

Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...

 period 1976–1979. It was issued by Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

 after they had acquired the Charisma catalogue, to test whether there was a viable market for the Hawkwind albums included in the deal. There was, and the company then re-issued each of the four albums the following year as part of the Compact price series.

In 1992, Virgin wished to include a new Hawkwind compilation, Tales from Atom Henge: The Robert Calvert Years, as part of their Virgin Universal series. The band's fan club editor, Brian Tawn, was approached to compile this new release, but chose to replicate the original compilation album with the exception of two changes: the addition of the previously hard to find single B-sides "Honky Dorky" and "The Dream of Isis", and the omission of "The Forge of Vulcan" in order to make space.

Spirit of the Age

1. "The Forge of Vulcan" (Simon House
   Simon House
   Simon House is a composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. His arrival in 1974 introduced a new element to the band's style...
   
   ) – from Quark, Strangeness and Charm
   Quark, Strangeness and Charm
   Quark, Strangeness And Charm is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent 6 weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #30....
   
   
2. "Flying Doctor" (Robert Calvert
   Robert Calvert
   Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
   
   , Dave Brock
   Dave Brock
   David Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
   
   ) – from 25 Years On
   25 Years On
   Hawklords is the eighth studio album by Hawkwind, released in 1978. It released under the name Hawklords for legal reasons, as there was a dispute over ownership of the name "Hawkwind" at the time. It reached #48 on the UK album charts. It was originally titled 25 Years On and the first 25000 were...
   
   
3. "Steppenwolf" (Calvert, Brock) – from Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
   Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
   Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Hawkwind, released in 1976. It reached #33 on the UK album charts....
   
   
4. "Hassan I Sabbah" (Calvert, Paul Rudolph
   Paul Rudolph (musician)
   Paul Fraser Rudolph is a guitarist,bassist, singer, and cyclist. He made his mark in the UK underground music scene, and then as a session musician, before returning to Canada to indulge his passion for cycling...
   
   ) – from Quark, Strangeness and Charm
5. "25 Years
   25 Years (song)
   25 Years is a 1978 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK on 18 May 1979, being a slightly different version to the one on the album Hawklords....
   
   " (Brock) – from 25 Years On
6. "Jack of Shadows" (Calvert, Adrian Shaw, House) – from PXR5
   PXR5
   PXR5 is the ninth studio album by Hawkwind, released in 1979. It reached #59 on the UK album charts.-Overview:The album was recorded and mixed at Rockfield Studios in January and February 1978. "Uncle Sam's On Mars", "Robot" and "High Rise" were originally recorded on the preceding UK tour but were...
   
   
7. "Psi Power
   Psi Power
   Psi Power is a 1978 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK on 6 October 1978, being a slightly different version to the one on the album Hawklords....
   
   " (Calvert, Brock) – from 25 Years On
8. "Reefer Madness" (Calvert, Brock) – from Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
9. "Fable of a Failed Race" (Calvert, Brock) – from Quark, Strangeness and Charm
10. "High Rise" (Calvert, House) – from PXR5
11. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm
    Quark, Strangeness and Charm (single)
    "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is a 1977 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind, being the title track from the Quark, Strangeness and Charm album....
    
    " (Calvert, Brock) – from Quark, Strangeness and Charm
12. "Back on the Streets
    Back on the Streets (single)
    Back on the Streets is a 1976 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK on 28 January 1977 and has been included on some North American versions of the album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music. It featured on Spirit of the Age - a 1988 compilation album...
    
    " (Calvert, Rudolph) – single A-side
13. "Kerb Crawler
    Kerb Crawler
    Kerb Crawler is a 1976 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK on 16 July 1976 taken from the album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music....
    
    " (Calvert, Brock) – from Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
14. "(Only) The Dreams of the Cold War Kid" (Calvert) – from 25 Years On
15. "Spirit of the Age" (Calvert, Brock) – from Quark, Strangeness and Charm

Tales from Atom Henge

1. "Honky Dorky" (Calvert, Brock, Rudolph, House, Simon King
   Simon King (musician)
   Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine 'Sounds' as 'definitive rock drummer.'...
   
   , Alan Powell
   Alan Powell
   Alan Powell is a drummer who was mainly active during the 1970s.In 1964 Alan joined Manchester R&B band Ivans Meads who released their first single for EMI label "Sins of a Family" followed in 1965 with "We'll Talk about it Tomorrow"...
   
   ) – single B-side
2. "Flying Doctor"
3. "Steppenwolf"
4. "Hassan I Sabbah"
5. "25 Years"
6. "Jack of Shadows"
7. "PSI Power"
8. "Reefer Madness"
9. "Fable of a Failed Race"
10. "High Rise"
11. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm"
12. "Back on the Streets"
13. "The Dream of Isis" (Brock, House, King) – single B-side
14. "Kerb Crawler"
15. "(Only) The Dreams of the Cold War Kid"
16. "Spirit of the Age"

Release history

• Spirit of the Age: September 1988: Virgin Records
  Virgin Records
  Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
  
  , COMCD8
• Tales from Atom Henge: November 1992: Virgin Universal, CDVM9008