Back in the early 1970s, music was of a different quantity and quality in comparison to the music of today. Indeed, it was most notably the era of Progressive Rock music, led by bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes and Deep Purple. One of the lesser-known but critically acclaimed acts of this time was Hawkwind. Combining Psychedelia, Progressive Rock, Electronic Music and a unique artistic standpoint, Hawkwind did have some popularity back in the day, and continues to have a cult-like following with their music. Just before this album was released, a major set of personnel changes occurred for Hawkwind. If you are new to Hawkwind, then this is the best starting place for their music. Recorded at Olympic Studios and released on 8 October 1971, this album runs for nearly 58 minutes in length and was produced by George Chkiantz and Hawkwind. Hawkwind were on this album: Dave Brock (vocals, guitars and other instrumentation); Nik Turner (wind instrumentation); Del Dettmar (synthesiser); Dik Mik aka Michael Davies (audio generator); Dave Anderson (guitars); and Terry Ollis (drums and percussion). Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. You Shouldn’t Do That is a 15-minute-long epic. It has a super long intro with some spacey and intelligent electronic sounds that are very Pink Floydian. This sounds deep, dark and interesting throughout. A nice example of Hawkwind’s take on The Rolling Stones’ song 2000 Light Years From Home. In any case, this does sound miraculously fantastic to hear. A really interesting listen that is moving and powerful. This tune gradually enters into the main section of music with chugging guitars and some intelligent bass guitar over rising spacey electronic textures. Hawkwind makes suspenseful music, that is for sure. It quickly enters into a very good instrumental section of music that has some great and deep appeal to it. It is a brilliant fusion of Progressive and Psychedelic Rock for music fans back in 1971. It does sound tasty and intellectually inspired musically. The mixture of guitars and drums, in particular, is really excellent on this tune. This is brilliantly executed music for those Hippies and other similarly oriented listeners of an intellectual mind out there. All in all, this is a sweet and deep listen for music of its own kind. Some whispered vocals enter, repeatedly stating the title of the song. A really cool and underrated music listening experience throughout. This music does sound fantastic, granted. There are also some chanted vocals throughout this tune. Nonetheless, this does sound futuristic and fantastic. This is an album by Hawkwind that should really have gotten more love at the time, although its long-term value outweighs much criticism of their music. In any case, this does sound very introspective and different musically. There is a touch of saxophone present as well. A great LSD trip set through inner/outer space, and something worth repeat listens. A deep and wacky listen, Hawkwind knew how to craft original and Psychedelic Music based listening experiences. This still sounds amazing to this very day. A real trip through what can be done musically. If you dig instrumental jams, you will very much love this music. The mixture of chord changes and interesting drumming is also present on this tune. Some overdubbed wah-wah guitar is present as well, drawing on the spirit of Jimi Hendrix. The whispered Syd Barrett-style vocals emerge in the second half, alongside some chanting. This sounds very decent and animated to listen to. The music is also very intricate and intelligently delivered. This piece will be a bit lengthy for some to hear, yet overall, it is really brilliant to listen to. Cool and dark, this is a wonderful listening experience. The music and melodies, alongside the original sounds, are very captivating to listen to. A truly wonderful and different tune to hear. It does seem lengthy, but at least it is intelligent enough on its own to be appreciated. It gets a bit more subtle in the second half, before gradually approaching its logical conclusion musically. This is definitely a fantastic tune. It gets much simpler and minimal towards the end, before returning back into the final section of the track, which is highly suspenseful. A really great listening experience, and absolute proof that songs well over 15 minutes in length can be impressive as well as Pop Music’s three to four-minute-long tunes. It wraps up with a crazy set of instrumentation and chanted vocals. Extremely cool, this wraps up with a huge amount of gorgeous subtlety and intricate drumming to conclude with. The electronics are also very, very good. It wraps up with a neat drum section and a smooth conclusion.

2. You Know You’re Only Dreaming begins with some freaky electronic sounds and some nimble bass guitar picking. This quickly launches into a dramatic song section that sounds wonderfully different throughout. The music is obviously indebted to many Psychedelic Rock greats, especially Syd Barrett era of Pink Floyd. This is a cool, intricate and excellent tune, once again. This also sounds like the sort of thing one would listen to down at the beach. It is a very interesting and awesome tune to hear. This has a groovy rhythm to it as well. Nonetheless, a winner of a tune and something that lovers of hallucinogenic drugs and imaginative listening experiences will truly appreciate. A great and grand exploration into the sounds of the future, back in 1971. There is a descending bass guitar riff that sounds a lot like Black Sabbath ever did, and the whole tune sounds surreal. The music present is legendary in its own way. The mixture of Psychedelic inspiration, Progressive musicianship, Electronic experimentation and a futuristic music template makes this a strong success and decent to listen to. The discordant horn section returns in the second half of this tune as well. This legitimately sounds really fantastic and amazing, to this very day. Towards the end, the music gets a lot more subtle, and the drumming and guitars become very noticeable to listen to. This is a very interesting tune. It wraps up after over six and a half minutes with wind rushing sounds and wah-wah guitars. Brilliant to hear.

3. Master of the Universe begins with a fade-in of high-pitched melodies, which sound totally eerie to listen to. These melodies pitch shift even higher, and sound really amazing. Electric guitars enter, and this tune gets going nicely with multiple guitars, bass riffing and some sturdy drumming. All in all, this music sounds supremely good. There are some excellently edited vocals (particularly given that this was made in 1971, before PCs or other technology were around) that sound wonderfully mixed throughout. This breaks down into a new section of guitar riffing towards the midsection, followed by deep and chugging bass guitar work. In short, this music continues its amazing journey through sound. An amazing sounding album that still has historical and musical purpose to this very day. The spacey, science fiction sounds continue driving these songs along, even if they are over five minutes long in general. A really cool and inspired, interesting listen, this does sound absolutely wonderful to hear from start to finish. The mixture of original melodies, sonic exploration and quality is very much essential listening. Nonetheless, this is cool. Towards the end is a breakdown, before the chugging bass guitar and drumming return nicely. Very awesome and clever tunes that sound really awesome. Sweet, interesting and based on futurism, Hawkwind are excellent musicians. It all ends after over six minutes with a great and suspenseful conclusion.

4. We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago begins with some unorthodox 12-string acoustic guitar, some warped electronics and other interesting sounds and production to match it all. Nonetheless, this sounds really cool and different. This is a song about the mistakes that people can make in their own past, and reflects on that. The music and melodies are very, very interesting and detailed throughout. This is a decent and wonderful tune to listen to, nonetheless. This mixture of spacey sounds and a fusion of intellectualism serves Hawkwind very well. In the midsection, this launches into a pseudo-Indian sounding tune, albeit with western instrumentation. Super cool and interesting, through and through. This is a flavoursome medley of sound on this tune. The second half has a return to the 12-string acoustic guitar playing and spacey seagull-style sounds, before going back to the song at hand. A very sweet and majestic tune to listen to. This is much better than you’d expect from a group of this sort; it is very fantastic to hear. It ends with some precise acoustic guitar soloing and wraps up gradually in less than five minutes overall. Excellent.

5. Adjust Me begins with a fade in of watery, wah-wah guitars and sounds magnificent. This quickly launches into a superb listening experience that sounds classy for its sort of genre. All in all, this does sound extremely cool and wonderfully different to hear. Some distorted vocals emerge, and this song gets grooving away nicely throughout. The whole thing gets going into a fantastically varied and textured piece of music that is absolutely awesome. This sounds like something that Squarepusher would do, decades later on, which is a strange thought. This, however, is a lot more groundbreaking musically, per se. A wicked and warped tune for all listening purposes, this does sound like a clever piece of music. The guitar riffing and spacey sounds make this come nicely alive. This album is very much a classic album by this point, and it showcases some unique and wonderful originality. In any case, this tune progresses on nicely and sounds super awesome in the process of it all. The descriptively interesting sounds do make this tune come alive, in the best sense of that description. This extended jam continues on very nicely, right to the end. Right near the end, drumming enters, and this tune gets more passionate and punchy. Another solid tune by Hawkwind, it ends with some sped-up tape editing.

6. Children of the Sun is a short piece to conclude the album with. It sounds fresh and fantastic, with some gorgeous acoustic guitar playing and melodies throughout. A brilliant melodic and interesting song, this also has some sweet pseudo-reversed vocals, and a gong hit in the background. This is quite a classic-sounding tune, with Hippie overtones to it all. Nonetheless, this is a super sweet and textured listen, gradually building up with excitement and energy throughout. This music is tremendously awesome for what it is. This is a surreal journey through sonic worlds that we have never heard before. This finishes up a very good album to listen to. Very much deliciously awesome, it fades out gently at the end. A winner of a song.

This album is a very solid, interesting listen. However, although it is definitely a Classic Album in its own way, it can admittedly be a little bit of a drag to get through. Having said that, this is a solidly good effort from a band that pioneered a fusion of Psychedelia, Progressive Rock, Art, Surrealism and Electronic Music. All in all, this is a strong listening experience throughout. Should you listen to this album? Most people will enjoy this, which is Hawkwind’s best album with its spacey experimentalism, however, Punk rockers will no doubt hate this music. Ironically, Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister of Motorhead sang and played bass guitar on Hawkwind’s song Silver Machine, which is odd. Fans also should check out reissues with extra tracks on this album release as well.

A decent and trippy listen through the ages.

8/10