Marking
a half century since its release on October 8th, 1971 is the sophomore
album by space rock legends, Hawkwind, with their first full blown
excursion into the depths of the void, X In Search of Space.
While
the album is not a concept album in the strict sense of offering a
coherent narrative or theme for all the songs, the album’s elaborate
die-cut fold out cover and accompanying “log” booklet ultimately
imparted a lot of its conceptual weight. These were developed by cover
artist, Barney Bubbles & poet Bob Calvert with input from sci-fi
author, Michael Moorcock. Collectively, they go a long way in
establishing a mythology around the group. Where their debut had hinted
at these inclinations, their second album made their otherworldly
predilections explicit. The use of fictional accounts of space missions
and tales of lost civilizations added a sense of wonder and mystery to
the group.
Recording of the album initially began at George
Martin’s Air Studios, but that only lasted a week. The sessions were
terminated after the band failed to get much done in terms of recording
and the studio techs complained that friends of the band had broken into
George’s liquor cabinet and pinched all his booze. There were also
reports that the engineers found they’d been spiked with LSD, so things
ended abruptly at that facility. From there, they were bundled off to
Olympic Studios to do the rest of the album under a rather hurried
schedule, no doubt with the hopes that a fast pace would keep them out
of trouble.
The pace of production didn’t seem to hurt the
material, however as the band managed to produce a solid album that
would firmly set their course for their progress throughout the next few
years. The sound became rooted in their driving rhythm section, which
enabled the other players to spin off into the far reaches of
improvisational acrobatics while being able to anchor themselves to the
band’s relentless grooves. Taking a cue from “Krautrock” and its
development of the “motorik” beat, the band were moving much closer to
these new structures than traditional blues based rock.
Critical
reception for the album was widely positive with Melody Maker comparing
them to some of their German contemporaries saying that, while the
Germans were more advanced on some musical fronts, Hawkwind’s use of
electronics was without precedent. Gonzo reviewer, Lester Bangs, called
it "monotone jammings with hypnotic rhythms and solos unraveling off
into... well, space. The synthesizers warble, woof and scream and gurgle
like barfing computers, the drums pound, and the singers chant Unknown
Tongue rebops." Its legacy has placed it onto the platform of offering a
definitive space rock statement, making it a foundation stone for the
stoned who would trip out to its far-flung, far-out excursions.
Later
CD & digital reissues added the seminal Silver Machine single
featuring Lemmy Kilmister to the album to round out its greatness!
