Reviews (page 6 of 8)
This is probably the best live album that I know, and it must have been great to see a live concert of Hawkwind in that period. Yet, it is still a live album and it does not make sense to include it in the list.
Extensive live album, feels like a long spacy trip, I guess you had to be there.
Best Song: Master of the Universe. A more standard rock track with some ripping instrumental sections. Worst Song: The Awakening. This sounds like it feels much more profound than it really is, which is just a mildly German man rambling in monotone. Overall: You have to be be inordinately into space to enjoy this album. Musically it's got some interesting prog rock sections, but lyrically it sounds like a grade school student who only remembered on the bus ride into school that morning that they had to give a presentation on "space" to the class. There's better prog albums out there.
Space guitars and space sax? Hell yeah!
A lot, lot better than I could have expected. I went into this one with no context on the band or the music. Sure, I got psychedelic 'vibes' from the album cover, but that did not necessarily mean it would be decent! A couple of things. The bass in these songs is really something. In a word? Meaty. Not a big fan of the vocals really, but the fuzzy, psychedelic guitar helps balance this out. Yeah, the guitar is as magical as the place in places. A lot of great 70s rock songs here. Here's a couple that my ears particularly enjoyed: Born to Go. There's some great moments of bass and guitar fuzziness towards the middle of the song. Goes on a little too long for it's own good, but still solid. I'd kill to play bass that well. This is only the second song into the monster live album as well, so this album really pummels that guitar and bass into the listener. Electronic No.1 also stood out to me. It sounds like a moog song - something Mort Garson might've come up with. It feels entirely unique compared with the rest of the album, so I have a special soft spot for it. Whilst this review is mostly positive, I will say that a lot of the songs 'melted' into each other and became forgettable. Others were simply average and didn't make the same impact. It lacks consistency for me to give it more than a 3. But I feel on further listens, I could grow to appreciate this more.
I've heard the phrase "Orgone Accumulator" before. To be precise, I've heard the phrase "I've built an orgone accumulator and it's now my waifu". More context is required but I won't give it Considered giving it a 3, but those drug-induced monologues outweighed the pretty good instrumentals. When they weren't singing, I mostly enjoyed it
at one point I had forgotten every song except the one that I was currently listening to and thought, maybe I'll give this one a 2. Then I realized I had 45 minutes left and it went back to being awful every song thereafter
3.5
Just noise. 1/5
By happy coincidence we saw these live just a week ago at Rock City. That show was great, and this album in its exuberance and energy is great also.
More 60’s psychedelic bs. Actually really can’t stand this stuff now
So boring and so long. The only interesting parts were the weird spoken word parts and those did not make me like it more
This was so long. An extra star for being unique and weird
Couldn't finish it
Only a band with Lemmy in it can have a flute solo sound badass!
oh boy a double album into absolute no where. Whatever the fuck the spoken word part The Awakening is. Orgone Accumulator is pretty good. This damn sonnova bitch is such a painful slog in one go.
So not much to say about Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual”, except that I have NO early idea (i.e. see what I did there… : ) why this is on the 1,001 list… This was a very demoralizing listen to say the least… All I kept thinking was, this is a considerably less-talented version of Spinal Tap, as this album just keep droning on, and on – with no discernible change in sound, or vocals… Sure, they may have sped some sections up, and slowed some down – but it was like the sonic version of dirty bathwater… In addition, the audio quality was extremely sub-par – but I guess that could have been related to when it was recorded, but another variable that didn’t help the cause… And lyrically – forget it – “…In case of Sonic Attack on your district Follow these rules If you are making love, it is imperative to bring all bodies to orgasm simultaneously Do not waste time blocking your ears Do not waste time seeking a soundproof shelter…” The really sad part for me, was later that day after listening to this crap, my wife and I were enjoying drinks outside on the back deck as it was a lovely summer evening, and we put the album “Avalon” from Roxy Music on over the Bose speakers… Such an amazing album, and the best from Roxy as far as I am concerned… So my wife asks me about the album that I listened to for the 1,001 earlier in the day, and I told her about my dreadful Spinal Tap experience with Hawkwind, and she asks if it’s that bad – why is it on the list? Good question, to which I respond – “…Have no idea, but apparently it’s #276 out 1,001 on the list…”. She then asks another great question – “…What is “Avalon” rated on the list…”, and much to my dismay – it seems that the seminal album from Roxy didn’t even merit a mention on the list… Listen – I’m a rock guy, and love me some progressive concept albums – but first and foremost, they have to be good, so listing an album JUST because it was ambitious, makes absolutely NO sense to me… About 150 albums or so in, and really beginning to question why I am even spending time this exercise after an album like this… 1 hour & 43 minutes of my life that I won't get back... Ugh...
Proto Punk, which seem to have the creative concept seems to "see how many weird synthesizer noises one can throw against the wall to See If maybe some of them will stick.”
Ok, so this album is good in the sense that they can play their instruments well, and for a live album it sounds pretty good. However, (as many people have pointed out) IT IS WAAAAAY TO LONG. I enjoy some jam bands so I get it, but 2+ hours when every song sounds the same is just too much. Here is a list of complaints: - too long - can't sing well - individual songs are too repetitive - every song sounds the same - too many spoken word segments - spoken word segments are too long - spoken words that are spoken are cringe - the riffs they play are annoying (every song has 1 guitar riff on repeat until the required solo section. I found myself skipping to the solo everytime because the riff would get annoying) I might have enjoyed a condensed studio album, but this was just too much nothing and made me angry
If it weren't for the weird and poorly done space doomerism, this might be the best jam rock album. Still great.
Long double album of 70s psychedelic rock. Great bass lines, long jam tracks. Love the fuzz sound on the guitars. Long album and I had to break it up to listen to it all. Solid not my thing most of the time but I can appreciate the work and art in it all. Stand out tracks: - Down through the night - Orgone Accumulator - Brainstorm
Very much silver machine!
This wasn't a one, but that's just because I respect the craft. Epic space rock nonsense that goes on for 2 hours isn't what I needed today or most days.
jaa ganz cooler sound aber was soll i mit einem 2h live album
mmmmmm yes shove mid psych down my throat mmmm space and drugs and boobs mmmmmm wowza!
UNLISTENABLE.
для такого длинного и многопесенного альбома очень много раз проверяла не та же самая ли песня играет. не моё)
Over fifty years ago, my dad and his schoolmates formed a space-rock band. He was rhythm guitar, his best pal was on bass, and they had some engineering enthusiast rig up some whooshing sound effects from a black box. Not long after I started discovering music myself, he’d fondly reminisce to me about their highs and lows, and each of the songs they played about silver machines and the universe and stuff. I know what you’re thinking: wow! I must be the child of one of the Hawkwind members! Alas, no: my dad’s band “Nebulah” lasted barely a year in the heart of Scunthorpe, and their songs like “Cream Dreamland” never broke through as Hawkwind’s did. Meanwhile, Hawkwind had spent 1972 gigging in places such as Liverpool Stadium (not that one) and London’s Brixton Academy, recordings of which survive on 1973’s double-album behemoth “Space Ritual”. What strikes me most about this album is how relevant and on-trend most of it still feels: in fact, I struggle to see a time in the last fifty years that it would have been truly uncool. Hawkwind’s sound has aged remarkably well, with space-rock enduring through the decades as other offshoots of progressive rock (nursery-rhyme psychedelia, medieval-style folk, symphonic bombast) have sadly fallen out of fashion. In “Space Ritual”, their repetitive, one-note, driving-tempo jamming aligns well with motorik and early-70’s innovations in German rock. The semi-sung, semi-barked vocal delivery and overdriven guitars suggests shades of punk (most clearly heard in tracks like “Born to Go”, “Orgone Accumulator” or “Upside Down”. And the shoegaze/noise-rock boom of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s has a lot in common with the blizzard of guitars and white-noise effects. By 2024, “Space Ritual” could be an album by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and I wouldn’t think twice. Less timeless, though, are the spoken word interludes peppering this album, along with many of the lyrics, which are ludicrous and laughable. “Space is not large and it is not small; it does not live and it does not die”… “in the first and final second of forever, I thought of the long past that has led to now“… “in case of sonic attack… it is imperative to bring all bodies to orgasm simultaneously”. Thankfully, these interludes are relatively sparing and don’t take up too much time, but I was often expecting one of them to break into “Time Warp”. While Dave Brock and Lemmy’s sung vocals are solid across the album, it’s really the instrumental performances and all-round atmosphere which are the main selling point here. As it’s a live album, I’m slightly more forgiving of these jams being played out to the max without any need for studio editing. The audience aren’t at all distracting or intrusive, so that one can still get lost in the performances easily enough. Nevertheless, the length is a bit of a challenge, and I‘ll have to be in the mood for it to enjoy again. A double album is hard to pull off in any genre, and the truth is that once you’ve heard one of “Space Ritual”‘s trippy space jams you’ve heard them all. Perhaps I’d enjoy this album more in a truncated form, or on psychedelics, or if played live (either by Hawkwind or my dad’s old band). As it is, it remains a decent way to spend 87 minutes.
So low energy... really didn't hook me at all. Kind of forgot it was on.
One of the better rock albums here and also points for influence
you guys know that Spinal Tap was a JOKE, right?
Not a fan
It does go on a bit …
It’s cosmic hard rock and is fun for awhile, but then it just keeps going and going. Becomes very repetitive after awhile. I know it’s live so renditions will be more jammy but it’s just too much. I don’t think I’ll spin this one again.
Never been a fan of grateful Dead or fish, but these guys managed to put together a solid live album. Individual songs don't stand out but as a collection this is great.
I cannot describe how terribly difficult this listen was. When I started this list, I made a goal for myself to TRULY listen to every single second of every record on this list. How can I give anything a true shake if I don't digest the whole thing? This is record #226 for me and I almost had to break my rule. I really, honestly, don't believe anything will come close to this record in it's unenjoyment. There will be songs I hate more. Artists I hate more. But albums? WHY IS THIS ALBUM OVER TWO HOURS LONG? Seriously I would LOVE to have an honest debate with the list makers on their rationale for including live records, and most specific of all, this record on this list. What an absolute DOG SHIT listen that was. My fucking algorithm on Spotify is going to be boned for MONTHS thinking I love Hawkwind now because I just put it through 2+ hours of this endless jamming wankery. Literally the EXACT same music you'd expect to hear in the garage of some highschoolers for two hours after school. Get this piece of shit off this list. Fuck this band, fuck this album, fuck live albums, and fuck you 1001 Albums.
No soy fan del rock psicodélico ni. De la experimentación, así que este disco definitivamente no es para mí. A veces las canciones me parecían extensas sólo porque sí, sin un motivo musical que lo justifique, como el amigo marihuano que extiende sus teorías conspirativas hasta la madrugada sólo porque te agota la energía para detenerlo.
Cool but entirely too long
I started out enjoying this but it became increasingly plodding as it went on. I didn’t mind how it all flowed together at first but when my work day ended and it wasn’t background noise, I couldn’t do it anymore. 2 only because maybe if it was just music for when I have to write I would enjoy it more
Space and psychedelic. Probably didn’t need to be over two hours but it was a nice listen
As active listening: nothing really stood out and it was way too long. As background / multi-tasking music: I liked the psychedelic space live jam sound. The length doesn't hurt it as much when you aren't paying close attention and are just looking for some decent vibes to throw on the Sonos.
Proto-metal/punk. I believe Lemmy from Motörhead was in the band for a time.
Repetitive, hard to finish
Absolutely barmy! A total rollercoaster. Right when you think it’s awful, it suddenly gets pretty amazing. Before reverting to being terrible but finishing ok! Never heard anything like it 3.2
Lovely psychedelic from the early 70's . Brought me to a place. Will listen to again
Early Lemmy. Great stuff
Born to Go is a helluva way to rip into a concert. Some great jam stuff here. Could do without the talkie talkie bits in-between but if I was ripped off my tits I'd probably be into it. Solid 3.5.
If my older siblings had listened to this instead of The Carpenters I’d have been a much nicer teenager.
I wasn't really looking forward to a double live album, but damn this was great. A lot heavier than I was anticipating. I was really enjoying the bass so looked it up and found out it's Lemmy! This would have been a great band to see at their peak.
Never heard of this before, but I loved it! Quirky, trippy, and it really rocks. All of the longer tracks are awesome jams, while the shorter tracks establish mood/vibe (admittedly not for everyone, but contribute to a unique listening experience). Especially like how the flute is worked into the longer jamming tracks. It's long, so you gotta be in the mood...but if you are, you're in for a fun ride. Best tracks: Orgone Accumulator, Brainstorm, Lord of the Light, Master of the Universe
Bueno
Strange definitely not in my wheel house.
Verry innovative - in the time point of view; verry spacy .....
This sounds like Lemmy playing bass for a prog rock band. Which is exactly what this is. Parts of it rule (especially the bass) but some of it sucks.
I was too young to appreciate the 1970s in all its psychedelic glory, but this album is the soundscape in my mind. It's a cacophony of sounds battling it out in a hypnotic way. It's raw, angry, anxious, and calm. I'm in for the ride.
Taken at Its most elemental - it's like Black Sabbath covering Astronomy Domine for...forever. but when you add in saxophone -then it really scrambles the old noggin. Full on jams with periods of spoken word and musical interludes. There are moments that veer dangerously close (if not ramming right into) Stonehenge. It all feels as if painted by a single musical brush. A spacey rocking brush...
I can’t really see myself listening to this again. The music is good, but for me the epic format isn’t appealing. While I wouldn’t go back and listen on my own, I do think the music is good and I was jamming to it. Even at 2 hrs it was easy to get through the album.
Aaaaivan liian liila-keltainen-psykekuvastokamaa. Juuri sitä mitä sekä bändin että levyn nimet lupaa. Mä tykkään psykestä joka vangitsee, ei jumita, ja tää on jälkimmäistä.
Hämymusiikiksi viihdyttävää. Silti toimii minulle vain kuriositeettina. En tiedä, ansaitsevatko välipuheet plussaa vai miinusta.
Painfully mediocre. I can’t wait for it to be done. I felt this way from the first song. It only gets worse. 2 hours!?! No. No more. I’m done. Goodbye Hawkwind.
decent cool, was fun to experience
I would have given this two stars for originality if it had been 30 minutes, maybe if it had been 45. But two hours of this? Nope.
Not my taste.
I might have been kinder to this album had this challenge not just served up the abomination 'Third' by the soft machine directly prior. Together, both albums represented 3.5 hours of psychedelic 70s Rock which is about 2.75 hours too much. I appreciate a good rock opera but add the psychedelic angle, and what seems to be a bunch of random noise, repetitive musical instrument notes and some absolute hippie bullshit space jargon. I'm not stoned = I'm out.
I felt so many emotions during this album! Boredom, anger, frustration, confusion and finally, acceptance (I accepted my need to skip the second disk!) The thing is there was a few interesting bits where I can hear Hawkwind starting to do something cool and interesting - and then we're right back into the weirdo meandering space astral projection transcendent jam session! I maintain the view that live albums are only for the fans, and are mostly too long and too annoying. Plus I'm not high enough to listen to this!
This album is a trip, not a good one, but definitely a trip.
A bit too much for me and that’s saying something. Weirdness just for the sake of being weird is not for me.
I am not listening to two discs of this. It *did* give me some contextual perspective on This Is Spinal Tap.
Áhugavert... að vissu leyti. Afskaplega frjálslegt, allt saman.
Bra grejer. Jag förväntade mig psykadelisk rock, men fick typ 70-tals stoner rock. Intressant att Lemmy är med dessutom. Många av låtarna var bra, vissa med lite väl långa gitarrgrejer och sånt dock. Coolt albumcover och riktigt cool musik för den tiden. Kommer behöva lyssna mer sen.
Epic, sprawling psychedelic rock! Absolutely loved this! Will defo invest in it in the future! What a great album!
I couldnt get into it
This album was a trip. Over two hours of all over the place space jam band. The time spent playing was really good. I don’t think I’d ever sit through the “lyrics” or the long noise sessions again.
Insopportabilmente lungo.
Were the drugs different in the 1970s? What the crap was this?
If I wanted to listen to a 2+ hour live album from a psychedelic band with a singer that launched into poetry I would put on any of the Doors live albums. But the Doors aren't British now. Are they? 3/5
It's odd how the writer of the 1001 didn't seem to get that live albums, especially double lives albums, are ONLY enjoyed by fans of the band. There isn't room for this sort of thing. Or MAYBE 1001 albums is too many? I think there are more records that would deserve this spot, though I will not sink as low as to try and name them here. Bottom line, this sucks. Because I don't like free form rock jams and I don't like this band. So listening to a lot of it is annoying.
It captured the essence of the outer space. The crazy psychedelia of it, as well as the ridiculous size. I have mixed reaction about the latter, like why is it so long and repetitive?
The noodling bits are bad enough but the talking bits are just awful
A Perfect album
I just didn't really care. Are the musicians talented? Undoubtedly, just listen to a track or two and you'll understand that. But man I just did not care about this album at all. Long, overly indulgent psychedelic jam band music that is probably a boomer's wet dream. And don't get me wrong - boomer music is my wheelhouse. But this...this was just difficult to listen to with any sense of attention or intention. It just meanders on and on. The bass line is the thing that stuck out the most, and it was excellent but often felt repetitive. The entire thing is an exercise in excess and lack of formal structure. I can get down with a live album. I can get down with a live album that has extended versions of songs with solos and breakdowns and other added material. I can get down with a long live album. But I could not get down with this. Meandering, obtuse, overly indulgent, and often times just strange. It's a shame, too, because I thought I'd enjoy it more than I did. Two and a half stars, rounded down to 2 because I didn't enjoy it. Standout track: Lord of Light
Listenable but not particularly interesting. I made it through the full hour and a half but dont need to listen again.
I have no idea what happened here, but that was a lot of fun! What a loud, moving, kaleidoscopic, wild, delirious ride. Would come again.
Long, so long. There was a visual performance to go along with this, maybe it worked better in an actual live context. Endless guitar and effects noodling is tough to enjoy without being on drugs. 1.5*
I am not 100% sure I enjoyed this album or would recommend it to a friend/enemy. If someone asks me to recommend a space rock album then I probably would mention this one. If a person likes drugs and likes weird sound effects and sax solos over lyrics about space, this is their jam. The bassist (Lemmy!) is killing it on so many of these tracks. The rhythm section is very tight and I could see how a person would take drugs and enjoy the shit out of this album. I find it odd this is a live album and the band went to great lengths to take out the crowd noise or indicate in any way this is a live album. There were some overdubs, though there is a version without the overdubs and edited songs. It's like the band wanted to show what an album of these songs would sound like and could only do it through a live show, yet they didn't want it to sound live. Space Ritual is another album I would not choose to listen to but if it just started playing then I would absolutely just keep it on because the jams are fun to listen to. Any time there is an excessive use of saxophone, I am going to be somewhat excited.
Pretty sick psychedelic rock with some early Lemmy on bass. All recorded live so there are a lot of warts and it does sound a bit grating at times, but overall it was a vibe. There were some really interesting sounds and textures
Listened to this on 2 gummies on the flight to Vegas. Good stuff.
Pretty good for a jam band, but still a jam band. Might be higher if not for the awful monologues
Well that sure was two hours of a dude grunting “SPACE… SPACE…” over some C-tier Black Sabbath instrumentals. Best song: Down Through the Night
Oh dear.....
I couldn't do 2 hours of this - what a bunch of noise. NOT MY THING NOT EVEN CLOSE.
DNF. Is this music, or more just a collection of sounds? Album art is cool tho.
Made an interesting contrast with dark side of the moon, which I had right after. The contrast being that one is shit and the other isn't.
Psychedelic science fiction jam. The mix is not good. I like the ambition but the SF spoken bits are a bit hokey. File under Sounds better when high
Not sure what to think
Absolutely incredible levels of wankery on this. I like drugs too, but get real. This narrowly misses a 1 just because there are some good things under all the dumb shit.
Usually I like the spacey jam psych rock. However, this was aimless noise for 2 hours.
Again, I have to question the criteria for albums being added to this list. I had not heard of Hawkwind prior to seeing this album pop up. I read a bit about them and apparently they are pioneers of space rock and ethereal themes, but apart from a few interesting lyrics here and there, I don't see why this was an album I had to hear. The soloing sections were way overdone, although the sax and flute that popped up time to time were a nice break from the monotony. Two hours was way too long. What they had to say could have been said in a 30 minute set.
Looong psychedelic rock opera with same really trippy moments
An album that needs no introduction, or an excuse to listen. This has been a part of my music life for over 40 years now. One of the greatest live albums ever released and a thrilling sonic adventure from start to finish
I think I would get into this if it was just the instrument jamming and more singing (I enjoyed the singing but there really weren’t many lyrics). I just couldn’t get into the mix of random sounds and talking along with the traditional instruments because of how it was put together. Would listen to entire Pink Floyd albums and never question those type of things so maybe it’s just that it was live? Anyway, not sure I would listen again.
Not listening to all that…
I sorta understand the concept of the album, but this style and the length of the album did not lend itself to active listening, which in turn leads to more personal connection to the band and discovery within the genre - it turns into simply background ambient music, which is not something that fits the project in my opinion. This was not bad music, just middle of the road. 2.5/5
I'm going with 5 stars here, but it's a slightly tactical vote. Hawkwind have put out a lot of albums over the years, we're talking over thirty studio albums alone, with many times that number in live albums, compilations, spin-offs, etc. I stopped buying physical albums in the mid 1990s, but I still managed to acquire around fifty Hawkwind albums, mainly on vinyl. The last album I bought was Electric Tepee, which I think of as one of their more recent albums, but it's actually in the first half of their discography now. The one thing that I think every Hawkwind albums has in common is that they're all imperfect in some way. The generally accepted contenders for the "best" album include Warrior on the Edge of Time, Hall of the Mountain Grill, Levitation, PXR5, and Space Ritual (this album). But none of these are perfect, with the odd dud track showing up here and there. With a band that's been around so very long, it's obvious that there's going to be a lot of shifts in style over the years. Space Ritual was recorded during the promotion of Doremi Fasol Latido, and it's typical space rock fare, so lots of long tracks with meandering saxophone, bass, and drums, with strange electronic ambient noises. It doesn't feel like a live album, as there's not much crowd noise and the quality is on par with the studio albums recorded around this era. The album ticks a lot of "classic Hawkwind" boxes, we have Lemmy on guitar, Dave Brock is obviously here as always, Robert Calvert offers some poetic interludes, and Nik Turner still hadn't fallen out with Mr Brock at this point. It would have been nice if we had some electric violin from Simon House, but he didn't join until 1974. Stacia is dancing, but that doesn't really come over that well on an audio-based medium. Of the twenty-one tracks on this album, I already had eight of them favourited. The good tracks carry the score for me here, as they're just so good that they make up for the slightly duller moments. There's nothing truly awful here, but some of the spoken word tracks get a bit boring after hearing them over and over again. This is great background music, perfect for a long drive, or sitting in the sun, enjoying a beer or two.
This was so incredibly bad.
Too fucking long and like most live albums, sucks.
J'ai pas besoin d'écouter la durée intégrale de cet interminable album pour juger que c'est plutôt d'la merde
good gutter, ok album nothing special
Pretty such you need to be tripping on shrooms for any of this to make sense.
Space rockpsychedelic rockprogressive rockproto-punkhard rock. Un poco rollo.
fun if in the right mood.
Some of this was pretty good. However, it’s still two hours of jamming, and some of it was ridiculous. I understand the appeal of jam bands, but there’s also a real art to editing and cutting down to the best parts of a song. This reminded me why I like editing.
This reminds me of falling asleep on giant pillows at the commune as the wild dancing parties rocked late into the night as a boy. The album is too long. I'm not too tolerant anymore of disconnected music, but this is just cohesive enough that I can hang on and like it. I The driving drums are really necessary and hold together the spoken word sections, bizarre sounds, and psychedelic guitar. Kudos for this one. I've probably heard this before, but I may have been dreaming. This definitely has whispers or seeds of Black Sabbath and White Zombie.
What distinguishes space rock from prog rock? Boops and blips and wooshes that could be spaceship sound effects in an early sci-fi movie? Some odd sci-fi spoken-word poetry? I had never heard of Hawkwind, despite them still consistently making music 50 years later. Maybe they never made much of an impact Stateside? Maybe it was because their music droned on and on without ever getting anywhere. The long tracks keep going and going, but without any real build or destination.
Ambling, directionless nonsense.
A bit too weird even for background listening, in my opinion.
Terrible live playing. The bass speeds up and slows down constantly. Probably fine for people who can’t hear that I guess
Não é meu estilo, não finalizei
Too much early 70s hippy nonsense, not enough tight rhythmic rock. For me. I think I get it though. If you’re in the mood, it’s a perfect soundtrack
Didn’t get very far thru it sorry
Off the bat this kind of sucks, I just have a low tolerance for mediocre vocals. A rambling album, maybe it would be ok without the vocals. 1* because this was much longer than it needed to be, it was torture. After a while I felt like I kept hearing the same guitar riff. 70s rock of jerking off to your guitar for several hours needs to stop. I'm learning psychedelic rock may not be for me. If I had to listen to this live, I would need copious amounts of drugs in me. Or a sleeping pill. I skipped the 3 alternate versions at the end. When they said "see you" in the last song, I took them up on it.
Oh dear. Hahahaha! Sometimes the 60s and 70s are embarrassing to me...
Mix is not good. Feels like you're missing something the entire time---maybe the light show and dancer(s?) were great.
So 4 days ago I get Motörhead No Sleep Til Hammersmith and am contemplating if in fact Lemmy is god. I decide it's unlikely that Lemmy is god and if he is that makes me an atheist. Lemmy is back (from space! In the past!) And his crazy fuzzed out bass drives this weird crazy madness. So I like Lemmy better in Hawkwind and think this "album" would be improved with a few jack and cokes and a doobie. So yeah, I'd have appreciated this more if I had other drugs in me besides caffeine.
The kind of self indulgent space wank that makes me think you really needed to be there. Not necessary bad, just needing more drugs and alcohol than the daily commute affords
Really strong musically, especially Lemmy on bass. A lot of the times this really rocks, but sometime it drags on way more than it needs to. A fun, fairly campy one though!
Some great musicianship,but not my cup of tea.
I had fun with this, but it got a little tedious. I didn’t hear a lot of variations in the songwriting and the whole performance kind of just ran together for me. Not bad, though.
I hope there were some trippy space visuals and hilariously dated Doctor Who style alien costumes to keep the paying audience amused, as the audio alone was an absolute slog to get through. 1.5
Damn I really want this to be better. I’m grateful to them as one of the main progenitors of stoner tock and the album cover is wonderful. But I was completely bored only five minutes into this thing. It got slightly more interesting at some moments but not that much. Extra star for Lemmy on bass.
Lost interest quickly on this one
It was a lot of fun but liked the first disc a lot more than the second. Sounds like something Spinal Tap would make Rating: 3.8
I have a train ride today and this album is 2 hours long so. You know. Should be an experience. Not a GOOD experience. But an experience. I suspect this will be exhausting, not necessarily BAD but not ya know, enjoyable. Lemmy is on this album which is cool. The bass is actually pretty good so I like knowing that. But boy oh boy is this. Fine. I feel like if I was stoned out of my mind and I saw this live in 1973 I’d say this was incredible but uh. It’s a rock album. Nothing profound is gonna be said on this one. Hey whatever happened to the Shakespearean poetry readings about stuff happening in space, the dude is comparing a really hot planet to people in cryosleep. We don’t do stuff like that anymore. Has space lost some of its luster in the years? Like this was 4 years after the moon landing so there’s still SOME romance with space. That said the poem wasn’t good. But I mean. It was a fun little thing regardless
Psychy psych
As with most live albums on this list, this would've needed to be experienced, not really listened to afterwards
A live double album of space rock is not something that makes me very happy. I think the legend of the album and music is a lot bigger than its actual quality and impact. Only funny and interesting fact is Lemmy playing bass guitar on it, but that's it.
I can understand some of the negative emotions. There are those that look for flawless execution, those will be disappointed. There are those that look for polished to the edge songwriting, those will be disappointed. Many reasons to dislike the whole thing. It is a mess of self-indulgent and pompous waste of time. But hey, that is exactly what makes this a fun listening, because they are shredding away with passion. Out of tune and out of synch, noodling and drawling away. I take this for amusement, not for its importance. Surely it does not belong on any albums-you-should-have-heard list, but being that serious sometimes is just not appropriate.
It’s not a 1. I give it credit for trying but the psychedelic space jams ain’t for me.
Im imagining Deep Purple and The Doors but so high on acid that they lost the ability to play their instruments
It's difficult to score this live album fairly because this was a visual experience as it is sonic- it featured suspended animation, dancers and light shows. That doesn't always translate into listening the album at home. However, Hawkwind definitely influenced future prog rock/stoner rock/space rock artists (case in point: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard). Overall: 5/10
Fucking hell this is even longer and even more pointless than that Allman Brothers live album I got a few weeks ago. I would give it 2 stars because some moments remind me of Queens Of The Stone Age which is cool, but that doesn't make up for the 2 hours of my life I wasted listening to this that I'll never get back.
Blind album and artist. This album is a trip.... I can't speak for everyone, but I definitely don't wanna go on it again. Don't take me to space if this is what it's like. It ain't dogshit, just spaceshit and that makes it not the worst thing I've heard.
Come on now, I love me some good psychedelic space-prog as much as the next one, but this is just way too much. Would I have loved to see this live? You bet! But as a purely listening experience, it's stretched way too long with a lot of filler. Lemmy's bass lines are sick though.
This must have been an awesome concert to witness. Unfortunately the experience doesn’t quite transfer to whatever media you prefer in your living room - unless of course that media is somehow the actual 1972 Hawkwind lineup live. Also; Lemmy was great on this!
Excellent!
Album Nr. 79 Der mittlere Teil des Albums wäre bei mir noch eine 3er Bewertung. Das Intro, der erste Titel swie die letzten Titel ziehen diese jedoch leider nach unten.
FUN!! 4
Felt like a time machine back to the 70s.
That's not my taste in musik. But ok
Vitun hipit! Ei vaan: todella tiukka studiolive jossa on kyllä todellista avaruus- ja jopa aavikkorockin henkeä! Hienosti rullaa vaikka psyke ei ookaan mun lemppareita. Jatkoon! 4/5
On sen verran eeppistä kaahailua että nelosen saa, vaikka törkeän pitkä livelevy onkin.
Livelevy eli liian pitkä. Muuten toimivaa avaruusrockia, tätä kosmisemmille aroille tuskin päästään. 3/5
Epic album, loved how ambient this one was. Very ahead of it's time for sonic ambience.
New to me, and I really liked it. Proggy space rock that kept on chugging along
I love that thing Stephen Morris of Joy Division and New Order said about how punk in UK took off all over the country because Hawkwind had toured so extensively all over the place in the years before and that they had seeded a few weirdos in every normally ignored town.
Этот альбом, судя по всему, инкапсулирует саму сущность группы Hawkwind, что в общем-то говоря в моих глазах оправдывает его включение, и тем не менее мое не прямо-таки догматическое, но близкое к тому мнение: лайв-альбомы групп вроде вот этой, - или каких-нибудь там пост-рок актов в большинстве своем, или там дроун-дикарей, - не имеют никакого смысла без вибрации в теле и визга высокой громкости. Понятно, что такие релизы представляют собой что-то типа путешествия во времени и возможность испытать то, чего больше нет, но как бы... Вводящие в транс повторяющиеся риффы трека на 13 минут очевидно производят разное впечатление в концертной яме и дома в наушниках. Лайв-релизы такого рода делают диссервис перфомансу. В любом случае. По поводу самого альбома: итс окэй, качество записи супэр, но слушать его повторно я вряд ли буду по причине, описанной выше. Альбом странным образом звучит менее спейс-роково, а как-то прямо нойз-роково (и я без понятия, дело в записи, или так и задумано). Забавно, что во всем этом деле замешан Лемми Моторхед. Обложка в соответствующем музыке духе, но мне почему-то нравится. Лучшая песня - Sonic Attack → Time We Left This World Today.
Very long, a bit interesting but really just too much. I think it’s an interesting idea I’ve never seen beofee but I can’t say I liked it
If you are under some very, VERY, heavy drugs you might get something out of this? But as someone who does not do drugs, this feels like a waste of 2 hours of my life.
weird and trippy
Started ok, got repetitive
I can tell i'm in for some prog rock.
An uninspired funeral dirge for jam band enthusiasts
This album is definitely a mood and probably isn’t as universally popular or timeless as the other albums that have been 5 for me so far. But IF you are in the mood for this space journey it will be a perfect 5/5.
Took me on a space trip
Interesting record, probably won't revist it much but interesting nonetheless. Also was cool to hear Lemmy pre-Motorhead play
Loved certain bits of this, sure it would be amazing experience to space out to live, but for a novice Hawkwind listener it’s a hell of a lot to get through
Really didn’t care for any of these songs, I wish the album was shorter
I feel like I may have liked this if I had heard it in the ‘70’s.
Wild stuff, really psychedelic -- some spoken word stuff. Cool rock grooves too, almost surf rock in some places. Heavy riffs, nice chugging, almost pre-metal, primordial sounding. I have no idea what decade this music is even from (okay, I just looked -- 1973 is definitely earlier than I would've guessed). Time We Left The World Today is super hypnotic and crazy sounding. I really like the grooves but the heaviness and repetitiveness of the music can be a little much. Three stars.
Unless you’re on far too many mind-altering substances this is mostly unlistenable. I tried and just couldn’t do it.
1. earth calling - 0 2. born to go - 0 3. the night - 1 4. auuakening - 0 5. lord of light - 1.5 6. black corridor - 0 7. zpace deep - 1 8. electronic - 0 9. orgone - 1.5 10. upzide douun - 0 11. 10 zecondz - 0 12. brainztorm - 1 13. zeven - 0 14. zonic - 0 15. time - 1 16. mazter - 0 17 the future - 0 18. do that - 0 19. orgone - 0 20. time - 0 21. do that - 0
Hawkwind is great and these live performances show it. But, damn, two long discs like that? Jeez.
Couldn't make it through the whole thing
I guess if you are very stoned ………. Two hours is 1.5 hours too many.
Not awesome at all.
It was..OK
Interesting presentation. It's one of those albums where the music sounds exactly like the cover art looks. It's spacey and psychedelic. Enjoy!
Too noisy
Never knew where to start with Hawkwind. As seminal as this band was for the whole stoner-rock umbrella genre, it's such a strange outfit--ambiguously placed somewhere between prog rock and krautrock, or between motorik psychedelic hard rock and proto-punk. Amazingly, Hawkwind can interest either fans of Steven Wilson or fans of punk rock--or, to put it back into the context of the seventies, either fans of Yes and fans of Mötörhead-- the latter because it was Lemmy Kilmister's first notable band as a bass player, of course. Yet as original as that band was, I always found there was something lacking in the plodding rhythms and somewhat linear vocal melodies of their *quote-unquote* "space rock". Something didn't click for me... But thanks to this app (and the 1001 Albums book), I can now say that the long-awaited click happened. The problem was that I had never really listened to Hawkwind play live, like on this gorgeous double-album, where their sonic aesthetics receive a better treatment compared to what usually occured in a studio, before, very ironically. Everything is more, well, atmospheric when those songs are recorded live--there's an "envelope" of sorts, something that's both warm and enticing. Here you really feel that "space" the band was aiming at, just as one hard jam ties into the next... Even more than the sound, it's the very organic performances on *Space Ritual*--surpassing most studio versions of those tracks--that finally convinced me Hawkwind could be pretty good. When Lemmy and drummer Simon King first took charge of the rhythm section of the band, on the supposedly cult-favourite studio album *Doremi Fasol Latido*, the performances were still a bit stiff. Lemmy Kilmister and Simon King were certainly bringing something more hard-edged that was missing from the first two Hawkwind LPs--LPs that were great in places, especially *In Search Of Space*, but never really finding their own "voice" compared to similar "progressive" acts. But if the new rhythm section was the trump card that could theoretically allow Hawkwind to find that voice at last, neither the sound nor the performances in their third studio LP did justice to the full abilities of the new version of the band. Thankfully, *Space Ritual* comprises all the songs of *Doremi Fasol Latido* bar one. And as said earlier, those live renditions (most of them longer than the originals) make the compositions breathe and bloom at last. Case in point: "Time We Left This World Today", which finally *grooves* as it should have in the studio. Plus, and unless I'm mistaken, *Space Rituals* harbours fan-favorites that are only available in it, such as "Orgone Accumulator" or "Born To Go". As such, it's like a "best of" album of that second version of the band. It's a little funny that in this record, as in others by Hawkwind, Dave Brock--a more than competent frontman, singer and main composer--is often shadowed by the extravagant personalities of his collaborators. Lemmy's power chords and simple-yet-effective tricks on his bass (played like a guitar!) often steal the show, even when he is somewhat behind the drums (which is actually pleasant on the ear--as it gives even more dynamics to the whole performance). And Del Dettmar's synth and Nik Turner's saxophone and flute steal the show as well when they take center stage. Add the spoken word interludes by poet Robert Calvert, and you even forget about Brock altogether! What matters is that this record is *alive*, in all the senses of the word, as topsy-turvy as it may sound at first. More alive than any of the virtuosistic--and ultumately void and pretentious--shenanigans played by Emerson Lake and Palmer around the same time. To be honest, I pity that ELP fan deriding Hawkwind towards the start of this reviews section, hoping that no one on this app will listen to *Space Ritual* just because he's the one who said it was "not good", "badly played" and "poor". How pretentious is that, huh? What's the problem with other listeners making up their minds on their own? That guy--probably a guy, right?--either has delusions of grandeur, or deeply hidden insecure feelings about his own tastes. Too bad he can't recognize where "modern" music becomes stifling and when it becomes exhilarating. That bloke should probably try to relax and watch "Stacia" dance to Hawkwind's "space music" on the stage... 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list gathering "essential albums", rounded up to 4. Which translates to a 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 270 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 322 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 180 (including this one, most probably) Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 234
This was just a little too over the top spacey for me. I understand it’s a concept album, but there was no melody or anything that drew me to it musically. Listen again: no Purchase for my collection: no Favourite Song: Down Through The Night
In all seriousness, I don't know how one made it all the way through this slog. Notes early Prog/space rock. Got it, sure. Why 90 minutes, live? Why this album? So long and repetitive.
Sometimes there's a reason you've never heard of some of these acts. They aren't very good. This sounds like a cross between Black Sabbath and Spinal Tap, but not in a good way. What happens when you take a borderline genre (prog rock) too far. Cool album cover though.
A nonsensical mess.
This had everything I hate about music… and I didn’t hate this. Weird.
This album was fine. It was definitely long and pretty one note, but a good recording. I kind think that long live albums should not be on this list.
There is some good material on this, but it’s just far too long and bloated for me to like it
Emmmmm.... Don't really get it.
Wow! This was one wild experience. A swirling, rocking, cosmic experience. Given some of my music tastes, this felt right at home for me. But I'll bet this is a special cup of tea for many (understandable!). It is a bit repetitive both in song styles and instrumentation, but I love this kind of music so it doesn't bother me at all. It definitely does what it seeks to do well: take you on one hell of a space ride. Favorite tracks: Born to Go, Lord of Light, Space is Deep, Electronic No.1, Orgone Accumulator, Brainstorm, Seven By Seven, Master of the Universe.
Wow, very experimental, not very good.
Nice!
Since I do not smoke weed anymore, I can not imagine myself listening to this ever again. Ever.
Here we go again, more psychedelic stuff from the early seventies. On scale of ANNOYINGNESS this scores very high. Big Sigh. Sorry hawkwind, I getting on with my life now
This album was so long, I went through a wide range of feelings. There were times I thought maybe they'd be cool to see live, then I was annoyed by some of the talking parts, some tripped songs that lasted too long and in between some pretty good jam sessions. I did make it through twice and I'm still not sure what to think of this album. I'll go right down the middle and call it 2.5. Since it's been a week of hell, the scoreboard will read 2. I could see myself, in the right time, right frame of mind give a 3. But here we are so 2 it is..... 2.5
3.5 This album feels like it would be either one of the most incredible or one of the most terrifying experiences on drugs. I’m not normally much of a fan of jam bands or really any kind of group that regularly goes off into extended instrumentals for that matter, but I gotta say, it was working for me here - there’s just a really cool vibe to a lot of the songs that I have to imagine must be awesome on psychedelics. That is, if you aren’t totally spooked the fuck out by the spoken word segments in-between. I see what they were going for, and I’m sure it works for some people, but for me those moments brought back the trauma of that tunnel scene from Willy Wonka. Outside of those though, really enjoyable album, one that goes harder than any other psychedelic rock project I’ve heard and that I think benefits greatly from doing so. Like, outside of the spoken word stuff and that one electronic track (which even then I didn’t mind - it gave me Star Wars vibes), there isn’t much random, trippy noise bullshit, it’s just pure, trippy rock energy - something I like to think is largely due to Lemmy’s involvement. Yes, Lemmy Kilmister is the bassist here. If you have another venture into this in you, I recommend trying to listen for the bass parts specifically - you can totally hear it’s him. While I don’t claim to be the biggest Motörhead fan, I generally enjoy most everything I’ve heard from the group, and I think that greatly benefitted my listening here - apparently trippy Motörhead was something missing from my life. So, that all to say, I actually went back and forth on my rating with this album a few times. I do genuinely think this album has an awesome sound and atmosphere to it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was too long and too much of the same thing. As much as part of me really wants to bump this up to a 4 just because I think it would be a fantastic listen in the right “state of mind” or even just an incredible experience to see live, in my current state, I’m feeling this thing needs a handful of tracks cut if it wants to get a full re-listen out of me. Who knows though, definitely see a world where my rating on this album goes up in time.
I liked this a lot
It’s pretty far out tbf, but works well over the full album. Much better than I was fearing
2 hours. rough. not exactly background noise that i enjoy either. Wasnt awful but i was not a fan.
Holy shit, the first side is my jam!
Spacerock, prog, stoner, jam, blues, mid/fast, male, soli, sounds, cans, keys, drive, must be impressive live, but not sooo catchy on record. Still great.
listened to double album (2h 12m) -- not quite my thing but decent. 2.6/5
Fuck that space shit
It’s really almost a perfect album.
Weird stoner jammy space rock is a genre I can get behind. Excited to listen to the first live album to come up on the generator. The bass lines in Lord of Light are so good, I love how heavy the bass is in the mix. Actually, the bass is the star of the show throughout the performance. The spoken word sections are a little distracting, but they do enhance the overall weirdness of it (usually a good thing in trippy space rock). I was hoping for a little more from the guitars, but I love the overall vibe and the trippy keyboard sounds added throughout. Overall it’s an enjoyable listen, probably best consumed along with a fat joint or edible. Without those things I’d give it 3.5 stars, rounding to 4. I hope to revisit it in the future.
The recording quality is a bit rough at times but I could enjoy different aspects of the music. This leads me to want to listen to their studio album and give the band a more accurate rating.
This was terrible. Psychedelic jam band with a mixture is slam poetry. 🤮
Ugh, super repetitive and I didn't really jam with it
anstrengend. Silver Machine und gut is'
Futuristic spacey sound.
Who knew that you could say “I’d like to dial up some trippy early 70s psychedelic space rock” and have it be legitimately entertaining?
Schöner psychodelischer Rock mit monotonen gitarrenriffs.
Please what is this and why do I feel like I need to be high on every drug to understand what is going on
Utter insanity. I guess the drugs helped.
Nope, nope, nope. I need a break from the obscure UK bands
Everything about this album is exactly what you’d expect with that title and album art.
if you must
"The Space Ritual Alive" is an extremely long, and somewhat diverse, live, double album. In this album, Hawkwind explores the rock genre, dabbling in hard rock, punk, and pioneering the space rock sound. While this English group did not transverse the Atlantic well, they have certainly have their role in music history. Hawkwind has been around for a long time, with members coming and going throughout the past decades, and serving as an inspiration to groups such as Motorhead and Sex Pistols. Overall, the album wasn't too hard to listen to, but the dreary monologues were terrible.
Very, very long psychedelic jam session. Nonetheless, a pretty awesome live album.
Nice surprise to discover this album and this band. Its always nice to fly in the space in the 70s
Can’t believe I’ve never heard of this band before. Songs are amazing and trippy. Definitely worth a revisit.
Appreciate the nostalgic value of early delay pedals/synths etc and their longevity..admirable…enjoyed once but likely won’t listen again.
Cool idea, didn’t listen to all of it, cause it got too long and started to all feel same-y.
A prolific and ferociously catchy lineup of songs.
Pretty good, jammy, nothing that resonates with me.
I can't get behind this, I will never listen again.... it's weird, doesn't resonate with me.
With songs that take hours to get anywhere (if they get there at all) and an awful sound, I do wonder what went on in the minds of the folks that picked this album for this list here. Probably the same drugs required to come up with a band name such as “Hawkwind”?
Que decir. No me gusta esta música. Marca mucho la época setentosa. Ni
I would probably like this if I used or had ever used, hallucinogens. But I don't / didn't. I had some friends in college (late 70's) who had some Hawkwind, and they were into a lot of the harder "mind stimulants". That must be the key. Don't get me wrong, I like prog music: yes, ELP, Genesis... even Triumvirat, Crack The Sky and Nektar. Pink Floyd, ya know. But this compares to Yes like Yes compares to ABBA... It is pretty far out there. This is an early 70's live album, but the quality seems poor even by those standards. Space Ritual is very muddy sounding, and the vocals sound very far away. The squeaks and whistles and "space sounds" are right up front, though. On the other hand, maybe that's on purpose? Musically it's not horrible, but the jams don't really have any direction, and the weird sounds rather bug me. Looking at Wikipedia, I see that Lemmy was the bass player here, before going on to Motorhead. I'm not sure what that means, but it is an interesting factoid. I don't hate this, but a cleaner sound, and a bit more concise presentation would help a lot. And some of it is pretty decent. But a lot more isn't decent. As it is, clocking in at almost 90 minutes, this just seems like wretched excess. Sorry, this is a 2, I struggled to make it a little past 1/2 way through.
Boring
A joke: What did the Hawkwind fan say when the drugs wore off? This band are shit. Best Tracks: Space is Deep; Orgone Accumulator, Master of the Universe
Way too long winded for my tastes.
now this is what i’m talking about. right up my alley. jammy and cool and weird. like king gizzard mixed with yes and king crimson. so good
3.6 - This is full-on drugs music, akin to Spiritualized. The intent is to give the listener an intense experience while under a heavy dose of hallucinogens. In a sober state, I find the freaky spoken word interludes pretentious, and 10- minute jams like "Brainstorm" too long. But, as always, I do like Lemmy's driving bass. And some of the more outlandish experiments do transport me to some colorful, exotic realm (see "Orgone Accumulator" and "Electronic No. 1").
I like such psychedelic stuff
Love this album, and no Silver Machine in sight. Apparently I like space rock - "There will be bleeding from orifices" Nice!
3/5. I have to definitely be in a mood for this one but I do very much enjoy the jams. It's hard to know exactly how this is to be experienced without being completely stoned on at least 5 different substances but sober it's still pretty good. Throwing the bass out front is such a smart choice, as it drives a lot of the actual songs. The spacey, ambience really brings home this otherworldly feeling but it can be lost on me sometimes. Again, have to be in the mood but it do be rocking.
Not a big fan of this type of music but the quality of the album is very good.
Está bien. Psicodelia agradable al oído con solos de guitarra bastante chulos.
Wow. I did not hate listening to this at all. Frequently captivated me. Bonkers.
Too far out for me, man.
Did not like
I had to tap out on this one.
It’s a no. I was not on acid when listening to this but I felt like I was on a horrible trip. Far too long. Nil point. Well, one good star. They obviously know how to play their instruments.
Not that into it tbh
Gonna have to come back to this one to finish it, its a long one. maybe i just want to like this because the album cover but i do kinda think it goes hard, a lot of the progressions are very satisfying. Definitely best enjoyed high. High potential for a 4
Some 70's psychedelic rock. Solid 3.
Would sound better in Dobly.
pretty wild stuff. gonna go 4 stars but depending on the song could be 1.
maybe not in the mood but just found this exhausting
Listen I get that you’re telling me not to panic, but this ain’t helping
Very iconic space rock. I love how it's designed to be one continuous piece. Some parts work better than others for me but overall it's a really fun listen.
Space psychedelia.
Pretty epic acid rock. Would like this on a trip.
Livealbum
Nope
They cover quite a lot of rock-genres on this album: Space rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, proto-punk, and hard rock. 2.5
A 2 hour rock noodle
Long, but fun. The skits in between songs weren't my favorite, but whenever there's full riffage it's a really good time.
Stoner space rock. Samey and looong. Points for the chutzpah i guess
Such a shame, this album would ordinarily be something I really gravitate (no pun intended) towards at a time in my life where I’m really into Hard Rock jams, but record really gets killed by dumb spoken-word interludes and aggravating synth swooshing. Some real great tracks, some real heavy hitters that I’ll have in my rotation out of context from the album, but as a whole this record is overblown and annoying. Top tracks: Born To Go, Down Through The Night, Orgone Accumulator, Brainstorm, Master Of The Universe, You Shouldn’t Do That
Cool, but there's not a lot going on. Too much jamming and I am really not a fan of the monologues
Sure this is something you put on all the time but neither is taking a trip to the moon. Yeah it's repetitive, a little long and there some cheesy spoken word however it's still great. I'd give this a 4 but given all the dipshits that rated it a 1 I'm going 5.
Enjoyed this much more than expected. Fuzzy guitar jams with spacey psychedelic electronic effects and proggy vocals. Some cheesy spoken bits.
I had really low expectations. I'm not that into prog or psychedelic music. But something about this really worked for me. It was fun to have on. That said, I did skip most of the weird talking songs.
This is the first jam band style album that I've really liked. Something about the sci-fi elements really worked for me. It's weird, but weird in a way that I really enjoyed. And for it to be as long as it is, and keep my attention the whole time, that's saying quite a lot!
The Wikipedia on this really hints at the bias of this list. I’ll hold the judgement until I listen but a live UK album that barely charted in the US is sus. After listening, I still stand by my words, but this was an enjoyable, trippy album. Very British but for this to be the Christmas Day album is pretty wild. Crazy cover too.
Live albums, always a dangerous endeavor. And doing a live double album is even riskier. But this one's pretty wild, very psychedelic stuff going on. "Space Ritual" is a great name. I've never heard of this group, but I really like what they were doing here. I can only imagine how this concert would've been for all the people there high out of their minds. As much as I feel I should knock this a tad for being live, it's pretty great. Not sure if we'll get anything else from them either, but let the record reflect that I dig their brand of space ritual. Favorite tracks: Earth Calling, Down Through the Night, Black Corridor, Electronic No. 1, Seven by Seven, Master of the Universe. Album art: This cover rules. An illustration of a nude woman, flanked by golden panthers, surrounded by space and flames and an all-seeing eye. The sort of tattoo that would be dreamed up by the biggest pothead you know. I love it. 4/5
“I feel like I’m really there!” said an honest person listening to a live album never. Wayyy too jammy for my taste. The 2 hour plus listening time feels daunting and I really want to just quit after 4.5 tracks.
endless guitars for stoners
I've always been curious about Hawkwind. They seem like a crossroads between jam bands, hard rock, psychedelic, and electronic music. I don't know of any other bands that are quite like them, though there is a lot of overlap. It took a few songs for me to warm up to this album but it slowly won me over. While I would have preferred a studio album to showcase their sound, it must have been something else to see them performing back then.
Weird
Een live-album waar je eigenlijk amper merkt dat het live is. Niet echt publiek te horen en fantastische kwaliteit. En de muziek vond ik ook wel oké
Well this was journey! Unlike a recent offering in this list where the frills seemed superfluous, here they are important and compliment the driving rhythms. Of course it is overlong and one wonders whether anyone was still awake at the end of the concert. A tone is set and it continues it unrelenting mission save for the short spoke and somewhat ridiculous interludes. Just the thing for a long trip on the motorway.
what the fuck???
Går godt med badesalt. (Jeg faldt i søvn til det mens jeg lyttede i et badekar). Tæller op at den er ret hård, tæller ned at den er aaaalt for lang. Og lidt for dorky
Man skulle nok have været på rimelig meget syre for at nyde den her koncert i 70'erne. Men det var 70'erne, så de var nok helt væk.. Udover det virker det som et fedt koncept, men der er ikke meget interaktion.. så det virker lidt som den dovne måde at indspille et album med lidt dårlig lydkvalitet på.
It was fine until it was over 2 hours long and then I knew I couldn't take it so it's only a two
Wtf was this?
This is a lot.
Disclaimer one: I've grown up with Space Ritual, as my dad has this on vinyl. Definitely stood out in the collection. If the album art looks trippy on Spotify, you need to check out the gatefold sleeve, maaaan. Disclaimer two: I am a confirmed Hawkwind fan. How much of a fan? Well, I did once attend a two-day festival called HawkFest, where the headliners for both nights were Hawkwind. I can't even pretend to be objective when confronted with the mighty Space Ritual. Thr music - space rock of a chugging, doomstoner variety with the metronomic insistence of Krautrock - isn't uniformly brilliant. That said, 'Lord of Light', 'Orgone Accumulator', 'Down Through the Night', 'Master of the Universe' - they're all here and spectacular. More to the point, Space Ritual is a moment in time and space that feels strange, peculiar and exciting. Nothing in rock is sui generis, but nothing really sounded like Hawkwind before, a marriage of pounding simplicity, gusty, questing synths and Age of Aquarius pscyhobabble. And didn't Hawkwind invent space rock as we know it? Albeit of a very particular flavour. The spaceships in this universe are not sleek, ergonomic wonders of science - no, what we have is a kind of spacepunk, clanky, ratchety handmades piloted by lysergically-charged psychonauts, with controls set for Sirius, the sun, the Crab Nebula or sweet oblivion. Glorious, magical, magnificent stuff. Tell your children.
Space is deep, so deep it put ya butt to sleep... Okay, not entirely. I actually like this a lot in a very generalized way, but I would A) have to take a lot of drugs to be willing to sit through a concert this long and this loose, and B) have to develop an interest in taking a lot of drugs, in order to really say it moved me. That's a big ask. Lemmy from Motorhead was in Hawkwind, correct? That's all I knew about them before listening to this. At least now I know a bit more. And sure enough there's some pretty cool bass work going on here.
I kinda wanted to go 5 stars here, but it just goes on too long. Very cool and trippy though.
Not my favorite
Groovy and jammy. A fun introduction to this genre
That was hard listening for so long. No more double prog rock albums!
Hate it
Didn't see why it's one of the best ever... Just typical drug rock of the era with too many interludes and spacey music. Wasn't a fan. I feel people just rate these albums highly due to it being what they grew up to and it's more nostalgia moments than the music itself
How many drugs does someone need to consume to enjoy this?! And where was this recorded live? Turdfest '73? And speaking of turds, Hawkwind has to be one of the most turd band names I've ever heard. It sounds like the name of a crappy, unimaginative high school garage band that will play anywhere for free because they couldn't even summon up a pity pay gig from their own family members. In keeping with the theme of this review I'd call this release a post-buffet two-flusher because it's one of the longest turds I've had to endure. It's unpleasant while it's happening and it really stinks but you feel so much better and relieved when it's finally over.
I've known about this one for a little bit, because my partner listened to it and showed me Sonic Attack because they thought I'd think it was cool, and it was. The rest of the music here carries that same space-y energy where nothing their saying feels real, and usually it isn't really, but suspending your disbelief for long enough to get sucked in a little is a neat enough experience, and there are most definitely some songs here that bang. However, the length and repetition of the whole package is a big turn-off, and by the end everything is starting to leave the same taste in my mouth. Its amazing that this is mostly all live, but it also feels sloppy enough that not knowing the music this stems from leads to aimless tracks that could use a few studio pass-overs. Overall, an experience with good and bad qualities, but I can't imagine coming back to it, unless I were to become a big fan of hallucinogens.
hyvä että kiireellä, kiiren alla tulee tämmöstä heh. koko albumi kuunteluun. ei mitään jutkastella. heh tee minuutin pituisia biisejä joo siihen väliin, niin en voi ennakoida biisin vaihtoa ja tulee mainoksia heh. 10 minuutin biisien väliin heh. ehkä ensimmäinen huumehörhö albumi jonka uskon että on parempi kun hörhöilee... en kokeile heh. kun musiikki on hyvää niin se on hyvää, siinä ei valittamista- orgone accumulator
amazing
Classic prog rock..also Lemey's old band
There were one or two moments where things perked up, but for the most part it felt like an overlong jam session. A lot of editing would be needed to make this more palatable.
It served well as background whilst working on a train, not that excit8ling.
I saw Hawkwind once (sadly without Lemmy) and I can't remember much. A two plus hour live recording hasn't jogged my memory much, I don't think there's enough drugs on the planet to make this monster album bearable in one sitting but there are more than a few bits that genuinely sparkle and shine.
Pretentious pricks
Wow, that felt 10 times longer than it was, which was already long enough. There were moments that I thought were good, great even, then I suddenly thought, "this sounds a bit like recent Queens of the Stoneage" and I balked that QotSA may have become Hawkwind, and I'm nice an old fucker. Oh, bugger. Giving it a 2 because I didn't hate it, but it was far far too long.
An amazing aural experience. Mind and body expanded to fill the cosmos. I'm moving in with this album.
2. Not my style
Fuzzy guitars and prominent bass. Backing flutes or sax. Some good solos and weird interludes. Orgone Accumulator is a highlight. ** 1/2
Wasn’t terrible and I actually found I liked some of the songs. But the 12 minute songs made me want to bang my head against the wall.