In Search of Space [UK Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Hawkwind
Engineer: George Chkiantz
Producer: Dr. Technical; George Chkiantz; Hawkwind
Distributor: MSI Music Distribution

Notes: Hawkwind: Dave Brock (vocals, guitar, audio generator); Nik Turner (guitar, flute & audio generator, saxophone); Dave Anderson (guitar, bass); Del Detmar (synthesizer); Terry Ollis (drums, percussion); Dik Mik (audio generator). Remastered U.K. edition features three bonus recordings. Personnel: Dave Brock (vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar); Nik Turner (vocals, flute, alto saxophone); Dave Anderson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Huw (electric guitar); Del Dettmar (synthesizer); Terry Ollis (drums, percussion); Stacia (dancer). Recording information: Rockfield, Monmouth, Wales (02/13/1972); The Roundhouse (02/13/1972). Unknown Contributor Roles: Phil Franks; Robert Calvert. On Hawkwind's second album, the seminal space-rockers began to assemble the pieces that would come to be regarded as their signature sound. While some elements of leader Dave Brock's folkie past were still extant (most notably the surprisingly poignant "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago"), the heavy guitar riffs, wooshing electronic effects, and science-fiction lyrics that typified the eventually predominant Hawkwind style all came into play on IN SEARCH OF SPACE. Though bassist Lemmy (who would later found Motorhead) had yet to hop aboard the spaceship, Hawkwind's proto-metal tendencies were already apparent in the downright Black Sabbath-like "Master of the Universe." The acid-damaged "Adjust Me" and the monomaniacal, one-chord jam "You Shouldn't Do That" attest to the growing freakiness of the band, a quality that would only continue to endear them to a hardy contingent of fans as their far-out tendencies increased. 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. [The 2001 British reissue includes three bonus tracks: the "Original Single Versions" of "Seven by Seven" and "Silver Machine" and also the "Live Single Version Edit" of "Born to Go."] ~ Mike DeGagne

Rolling Stone (6/22/72, p.58) - "...This is music for the astral apocalypse...their sound as well as their message is much closer to Pink Floyd than Black Sabbath, with a little bit of Sun Ra thrown in, even..." -Lester Bangs Q (7/96, p.138) - 3 Stars - Good - "...IN SEARCH OF SPACE...held two genuine classics in `You Shouldn't Do That' and `Master Of The Universe'..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/96, p.121) - "...digitally remastered and lovingly repackaged by EMI Premier, [IN SEARCH OF SPACE is] complete with extra tracks and loads of squinty eye memorabilia..." NME (Magazine) (4/27/96, p.51) - "...their own space-metal sound start[s] to emerge and `Master Of The Universe' is one of the greatest cosmic rockers ever..."

Inspired equally by the hippie lifestyle/marathon jamming of the '60s West Coast bands and the interstellar excursions of Pink Floyd, Hawkwind helped invent "space rock" as we know it today. Through countless albums and personnel shifts, they've continued to combine heavy rock with science fiction in a futuristic setting, inspiring a generation of bands and several international space-rock festivals.

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