Hawkwind Space

It may or may not be the business of the future to be dangerous, but it certainly is the business of Hawkwind to do the unexpected on this album. This disc seems to be the group's effort to merge trance/ambient/techno sounds with that of the space rock that they pioneered. The resulting CD is a bit sleepy, but does have its moments. "Space Is Their (Palestine)" has segments that feel a bit like Kraftwerk covering Hassan I Shaba (aka Assassins of Allah). However, at over 11 minutes those moments are stretched a bit thin. "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" is a harder-edged cut that comes closer to Hawkwind's more typical sound, but it still feels a bit off of its mark. A highlight of the disc is "Wave Upon Wave," which has a great proggy, atmospheric texture…

To speak about this extensive set of music allegorically, "Space 'n' Bass" is like an aquarium full of beautiful and varied tropical fish, each interesting in it's own way, whether breathtakingly colorful, exotically compelling or curiously fascinating. And by the very nature of the mediums, both the fish in the imaginary aquarium and the music in these CDs achieve relaxing and beautiful movement via endless repetition and effectively enjoyed for limited time periods only. This is not to say that "Space 'n' Bass" is boring; it boasts an impressive array of ambient electronica offering ample doses of acid jazz, jungle, world-beat and beat-box percussive underpinnings, a nice balance of analog, digital and sampled textures, a smattering of other instruments, infectious bass patterns and surprising aural constructions…

The following albums are included: Hawkwind, In Search of Space, Greasy Truckers’ Party (2CD) Doremi Fasol Latido, The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London (2CD), Hall of the Mountain Grill, The 1999 Party (2CD) and this set also comes with a bonus disc collecting rare single mixes called Of Time and Stars – The Singles…