Hawkwind – In Search of Space [Deluxe Edition] (2024)

Review by Mike DeGagne: 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. The peculiarity never ceases, as “You Know You’re Only Dreaming” and “We Took the Wrong Steps Years Ago” delves even deeper into obscurity, sometimes emanating with the familiar jangle of the guitar which then has its acquaintance overshadowed by the waft of the keyboard. Just as “Master of the Universe” chugs and rolls with a foreboding rhythm, “Adjust Me” retaliates with its moaning verse and tonal fluctuations fading into oblivion. The groundbreaking sound which Hawkwind achieved on In Search of Space helped to open up a whole new avenue of progressive rock. This album would lead to their most successful release in Space Ritual, coming two years after In Search of Space, with their interplanetary groove already set for takeoff. — AMG

Track List:

Disc 1 01. You Shouldn’t Do That (The Original Mix Remastered) 02. You Know You’re Only Dreaming (The Original Mix Remastered) 03. Master of the Universe (The Original Mix Remastered) 04. We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago (The Original Mix Remastered) 05. Adjust Me (The Original Mix Remastered) 06. Children of the Sun (The Original Mix Remastered) 07. Seven By Seven (Bonus Tracks) (The Original Mix Remastered) 08. Silver Machine (Bonus Tracks) (The Original Mix Remastered)

Disc 2 01. You Shouldn’t Do That (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 02. You Know You’re Only Dreaming (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 03. Master of the Universe (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 04. We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 05. Adjust Me (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 06. Children of the Sun (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 07. Hog Farm (Bonus Tracks) (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler) 08. Silver Machine (Bonus Tracks) (New Stereo Mixes By Stephen W Tayler)

Media Report: Genre: prog-rock, psychedelic rock Origin: London, England
Format: FLAC Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec Bit rate mode: Variable Channel(s): 2 channels Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz Bit depth: 16 bits Compression mode: Lossless Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)

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