•
Rating:
Hawkwind is an English band from the early 70s, which much of the criticism forcibly includes in the hard'n'heavy category. In reality, the group of Calvert and Brock invented a new musical language: space-rock. Hawkwind's musical proposal is much closer to acid rock, free jazz, and minimalist avant-garde than to hard rock. Hypnotic, intoxicating, and ethereal, their “space rock” takes the lesson of the Grateful Dead (masters of improvised jam) and adapts it to a new and original sonic blend that includes obsessive and pounding rhythms, slashing and repeated guitar riffs, languid and endless sax and flute solos, searing electronic stabs.
The opener “You Shouldn’t Do That” is the quintessence of the Hawkwind sound: 15 vertiginous minutes at a brisk pace, in which a simple bass line serves as the tireless engine for a series of variations on the theme, especially in terms of timbre and intensity (according to the minimalist lesson). It is music that, starting from simple cues, dissects them to reach moments of pure sonic roar. The “spatial” character of their sound lies not so much in the use of electronics, but in the concept of conceiving the tracks as nebulae in continuous restructuring: the overall impression is that of a compact and homogeneous sound block, always the same; in reality, by analyzing the piece in detail, one perceives, with each cycle of chords, small great upheavals that reveal, from time to time, new music, a new dimension, a new universe. Hawkwind's songs are perpetual motion sonic magma.
If “Master of the Universe” is the track on the album that most approaches hard rock practice, “You Know You’re Only Dreaming” and “Adjust Me” lean towards abstraction, chaos, pure enchantment. Both start with a brief vocal section (the Barrett-like dream chant of the former; the hypnotic recitation of the latter), only to launch into wonderful free-form adventures on the edge of reality. To draw a suggestive bridge between futurism and primitivism, there are “We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago” and “Children of the Sun”, two folk-inspired tracks accompanied by acoustic guitar.
The bonus tracks are closer to the song form: “Seven by Seven” (dreamy extraterrestrial prophecy), “Silver Machine” (titanic and overwhelming boogie), “Born To Go” (a whirlwind and tumultuous rollercoaster, recorded live).
A magical, unmissable album; an unforgettable journey through the wonders of the cosmos: “In Search of Space” is one of those experiences that remain.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 You Know You're Only Dreaming (06:38)
One more touch and then you'll see a world of
hidden mystery,
Visions of you know you're only dreaming
Colours change, I stand upright
Screaming souls in the night
Visions of you know you're only dreaming
Chaos all within my mind
Try to reach anI wanna be with my own kind
Visions of you know you're only dreaming.
03 Master of the Universe (06:15)
I am the centre of this universe
The wind of time is blowing through me
And it's all moving relative to me,
It's all a figment of my mind
In a world that I've designed
I'm charged with cosmic energy
Has the world gone mad or is it me?
I am the creator of this universe
And all that it was meant to be
So that we might learn to see
This foolishness that lives in us
And stupidity that we must suss
How to banish from our minds
If you call this living I must be blind.
04 We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago (04:50)
Brock - )
Think about the things that we should have done before
The way things are going the end is about to fall.
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
Take a look around and see the warnings close at hand
Already weeds are writing their scriptures in the sand
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
The morning sun is rising, casting rays out across the land,
Already nature's calling, take heed of the warning,
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
05 Adjust Me (05:45)
City black, encase the time
World full of men, who all are blind
Who walk and talk and say as one:
"Androids are we", heir to no son
Adjust me
Adjust me
Adjust me.....
06 Children of the Sun (03:13)
The golden age of the future comes
That which was dreamed of in the past
Where freedom reigns on minds of peace
Minds rich in wisdom to the last
We are the children of the sun and this is our inheritance
No longer chaos and confusion
But love and laughter
Song and dance
Loading comments slowly
