Hawkwind no Space

Recorded live in December 1972 and released the following year, Space Ritual is an excellent document featuring Hawkwind's classic lineup, adding depth and weight to the already irrefutable proof that the group's status as space rock pioneers was well warranted. As the quintessential "people's band," Hawkwind carried '60s countercultural idealism into the '70s, gigging wherever there was an audience. The band's multimedia performances were a perfect accompaniment for inner space exploration and outer space imagination. Though not concerned with rock's material trappings, Hawkwind was among the hardest-working groups in Britain, averaging a show every three days during the year preceding the recordings…

Hawkwind are an English rock band and one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. Formed in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and they have incorporated different styles into their music, including hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are also regarded as an influential proto-punk band. Dozens of musicians, dancers and writers have worked with the band since their inception. Notable musicians to have performed in the band include Lemmy, Ginger Baker and Huw Lloyd-Langton, but the band are most closely associated with their founder, the singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Brock, who remains the only original member.

In Search of Space strengthened Hawkwind's science fiction-type brand of progressive rock, gaining bass player Dave Anderson and galactic poet extraordinaire Rob Calvert, while losing John Harrison at the same time. The album opens with the mind-numbing galactic haze of "You Shouldn't Do That," a spooky little 15-minute excursion that warps, throbs, and swirls with Dik Mik's "audio generator" and the steady drum pace of Terry Ollis. Then comes the ominous whispering of the title, set to the pulsating waves of Dave Brock's guitar and Turner's alto sax, with Dettmar's synth work laying the foundation. Wonderfully setting the tone, "You Shouldn't Do That"'s improvisational looseness and rhythmic fusion smoothly open up the album into the realm of Hawkwind…

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a band emerged from the bitter end of the '60s, a group seeded by the ideals of the hippie/acid scene with feelers reaching into the spacy side of Krautrock, while germinating an aggressive sound all its own. Hawkwind's ability to forge their own path, yet remain open to incorporating new styles of music that grew up in their wake, is legendary, and never more apparent than on this double album. Originally released in 1996 and recorded live during the band's 1995 Alien 4 tour, this is not the sound of a 25-year-old band limping around stage lost in space and time, but a defiant celebration of everything Hawkwind had accomplished and were still set to do…