hero with a wing (bob calvert cover) by simeon psimian

[ also on youtube at: http://youtu.be/G4dD4L5WqdQ ]

fabulous song by the brilliant late robert calvert from my favourite album of his, Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters

I see myself a Hero
While one wings falls away
And the dial approaches zero
In a spiralling display.
My past life flashes feverishly,
And lives I did not lead,
Like the time I was a hero
Of a weird, outlandish breed.

One arm of flesh and muscle
And one of feathered scale
I was hero with one wing
That was of no avail.
I could only fly in circles
Like a corkscrew in the sky,
My one wing flapping frantically
While birds just glided by.

I launched myself from mountains
And from the highest trees
And though I could get nowhere
Just landed on my knees.
But still I was a hero,
With one wing more than most.
Almost half an Angel;
A whirling holy ghost.

My father was an eagle
With two wings wide as sails
My mother was the west wind witch
With grasping finger nails.
She lured him from his eyrie
With her twittering device.
She kept him in a golden cage
And fed him field mice.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on 14/1/12:-)

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Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters

Studio album by Robert Calvert
Released 1974
Recorded March 1973 - June 1974
Genre Rock, Proto-punk
Length 42:24
Label United Artists
Producer Roy Thomas Baker
Robert Calvert chronology
Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters
(1974) Lucky Leif and the Longships
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters was a 1974 satirical concept album by Robert Calvert, the former frontman of British space-rock band Hawkwind. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes.
The concept was based on the German Air Ministry’s purchase of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, colloquially known as the Widowmaker. In German service these planes had a poor safety record, with 270 of almost 635 Luftwaffe Starfighters lost in accidents during the aircraft’s time in service, which lasted from the early 1960s until the mid 1980s.[2] The Starfighters had inherently challenging flight characteristics, possibly made worse by a number of ill-considered modifications made by the manufacturers at the behest of the Germans in order to clinch the sale.[citation needed]
Musicians who appeared on the album include members of Hawkwind, The Pink Fairies, Brian Eno (although not credited as Eno), Arthur Brown and Adrian Wagner. The spoken sketches are primarily performed by Calvert, Viv Stanshall and Jim Capaldi.
“Ejection” (coupled with “Catch a Falling Starfighter”) was released as a single, although both songs are slightly different versions to those on the album. “The Widow’s Song” was included in the libretto and Calvert had hoped to record it with Nico singing. It wasn’t recorded at the time but it was eventually recorded in 1984 with Calvert’s wife Jill Riches on lead vocals and included on the Hawkwind, Friends and Relations compilation.
The album has been re-released in the late 1990s by BGO Records and is currently available on Ecletic Records (ECLCD1056) with bonus tracks.

All songs by Robert Calvert except where stated.
“Franz Josef Strauss, Defence Minister, reviews the Luftwaffe in 1958” – 1:40
“The Aerospaceage Inferno” – 4:35
“Aircraft Salesman (A Door in the Foot)” – 1:41
“The Widow Maker” (Dave Brock, Calvert) – 2:42
“Two test pilots discuss the Starfighter’s performance” – 0:41
“The Right Stuff” – 4:23
“Board meeting (seen through a contract lense)” – 0:58
“The Song of the Gremlin (part one)” (Arthur Brown, Calvert, Wagner) – 3:21
“Ground Crew (last minute reassembly before take off)” – 3:17
“Hero with a Wing” – 3:20
“Ground Control to Pilot” – 0:52
“Ejection” – 3:35
“Interview” – 3:55
“I Resign” – 0:27
“The Song of the Gremlin (part two)” (Brown, Calvert, Wagner) – 3:10
“Bier Garten” – 0:38
“Catch a Falling Starfighter” – 2:54
[edit]Bonus tracks
“The Right Stuff” (extended version) – 8.07
“Ejection” (single version) – 3.47
“Catch A Falling Starfighter” (single version) – 3.00
Monster Magnet did a cover of “The Right Stuff” on their 2004 album, Monolithic Baby!
[edit]Personnel

[edit]Musicians
Robert Calvert - vocals
Arthur Brown - vocals on “The Song of the Gremlin” parts 1 and 2
Paul Rudolph - lead and rhythm guitar (all), bass guitar on “The Song of the Gremlin” parts 1 and 2, “Hero with a Wing”
Dave Brock - lead guitar on “The Widow Maker”
Lemmy - bass guitar
Nik Turner - saxophone
Brian Eno (as Brian Peter George St John La Baptiste De La Salle) - Synthesizer
Del Dettmar - synthesizer
Adrian Wagner - keyboards on “The Song of the Gremlin” parts 1 and 2
Simon King - drums
Twink Alder - Funeral drum on “Catch a Falling Starfighter”
The Ladbroke Grove Hermaphroditic Voice Ensemble - back up vocals
[edit]Actors
Vivian Stanshall - most leads (e.g. Ground Control, Bright Mechanic)
Jim Capaldi - American Salesman, Recruiting Officer, Dim Mechanic
Robert Calvert - Pilot
Tom Mittledorf
Richard Elen (mis-credited as “Richard Ealing”)
[edit]Recording
Technicians: Phil Brown, Frank Owen, Rufus Cartwright, Anton Matthews, Phil Chapman
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker
Studios: Island, Olympic, Radio Luxembourg (dialogue) between March 1973 and January 1974
Mixing: Trident Studios
[edit]Sleeve
Concept: Bob Calvert
Art Directions: Pierre Tubbs
Illustrator: Stanislaw Ferdandes
[edit]References

^ Allmusic review
^ http://www.vectorsite.net/avf104_2.html
[edit]External links

www.starfarer.net: libretto
www.headheritage.co.uk: The Book of Seth review