Recorded live in December 1972 and released the following year, Space Ritual is an excellent document of Hawkwind's classic lineup, underscoring the group's status as space rock pioneers. As the quintessential "people's band," Hawkwind carried '60s countercultural idealism into the '70s, gigging constantly, playing wherever there was an audience, and even playing for free on five consecutive days outside the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. The band's multimedia performances were the perfect accompaniment for exploring inner ...
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Recorded live in December 1972 and released the following year, Space Ritual is an excellent document of Hawkwind's classic lineup, underscoring the group's status as space rock pioneers. As the quintessential "people's band," Hawkwind carried '60s countercultural idealism into the '70s, gigging constantly, playing wherever there was an audience, and even playing for free on five consecutive days outside the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. The band's multimedia performances were the perfect accompaniment for exploring inner space and imagining outer space. While not concerned with rock's material trappings, Hawkwind were, ironically, among the hardest-working groups in Britain, averaging one show every three days during the year preceding these recordings. Given all that practice, it's not surprising that the performances collected here are incredibly tight (although, reportedly, a couple of tracks were edited). Incorporating most of Doremi Fasol Latido, the show for the Space Ritual tour was conceived as a space rock opera, its blend of sci-fi electronics, mesmerizing psy-fi grooves, and heavy, earthbound jamming punctuated with spoken word interludes from astral poet Bob Calvert. Although his intergalactic musings date the album, coming across now as camp futurism, they still provide fitting atmospheric preambles to Hawkwind's astounding, mind-warping sounds. Calvert's manic recital of Michael Moorcock's "Sonic Attack," for instance, is an exercise in tension that subsequently explodes on the stomping "Time We Left This World Today"; with Nik Turner's otherworldly sax, Dave Brock's guitar distortion, and the earth-moving rhythm section of Simon King and Lemmy, this track offers a blueprint for the album's most potent material. Another standout is "Orgone Accumulator," ten minutes of hypnotic (Wilhelm) Reich & roll that could be the missing link between Booker T. and Stereolab. A 1973 advertisement described Space Ritual, Rovi
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Add this copy of Space Ritual to cart. $17.52, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Orange County rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Ana, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by EMI Music Distribution.
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Seller's Description:
Good. This item has very light surface scratches that do not affect the use of the disc/s. This is a USED item. Case and cover may or may not have wear or damage. All items unless otherwise noted will include disc, case, and artwork. Codes have been used. Other contents such as booklets may vary, please inquire for details. All items ship Monday-Friday within 2-3 business days.
Add this copy of Space Ritual to cart. $21.62, good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Carrollton, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Parlophone.
Add this copy of Space Ritual [UK Bonus Tracks] to cart. $28.86, very good condition, Sold by worldofbooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Goring-By-Sea, WEST SUSSEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2001 by EMI Music Distribution.Shipping outside the U.K.? see Shipping Alert details
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Bainbridge/Brock/Ll; Brock; Brock/Calvert; Brock/Turner; Calvert; Calvert/Hawkwind; Dettmar/Dik Mik; Moorcock; Turner. Very Good. In very good packaging. Space Ritual Alive In London.
Space Ritual is easily the best live album ever recorded, and quite possibly the best album period. It even has good sound quality. Stylistically, Hawkwind sounds like a cross between Blue ?yster Cult and Pink Floyd, and Space Ritual tops anything either band ever produced. Every band member is obviously technically adept, and Space Ritual finds them playing with an energy well beyond that of any of their studio albums. The songs frequently feature superb and lengthy instrumental jams; indeed, as is all too often not the case, the longest songs ("Born to Go," "Orgone Accumulator," "Brainstorm," "Master of the Universe") are also the best.
When this album was released, the tagline used to market it was "88 minutes of brain damage," a truly accurate summation. The music varies, often with little warning, between quiet and relaxed, and mind-numbingly loud. The quiet songs (the less prevalent of the two extremes) are usually not songs at all, but poems recited with no instrumentation save sound effects. Apart from adding to Hawkind's uniqueness (I know of no other bands in the habit of reciting poetry during concerts), the poems are as good as the songs. In fact, Michael Moorcock's "Sonic Attack" is one of the album's highlights. "Sonic Attack" is not the heavy metal headbanger that the title might suggest, but a mock public service announcement about what to do in case you find yourself under attack with sonic weaponry. The refrain of "do not panic," contrasted with the overall panic-inducing tone of the poem, is excellent.
I'm not saying Space Ritual is perfect. It's not. "Time We Left This World Today," for example, is a terrible piece of songwriting, and could easily have been dull and repetitive. However, the sheer energy with which it's played more than makes up for whatever flaws it has, which is true of the album in general.
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