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Space Ritual

Artist: Hawkwind
Label: United Artists Records
Catalog#: UA-LA120-H
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1973-05
Tracklist
A1 Earth Calling 1:46
A2 Born To Go 9:56
A3 Down Through The Night 6:16
A4 The Awakening 1:32
B1 Lord Of Light 7:21
B2 The Black Corridor 1:51
B3 Space Is Deep 8:13
B4 Electronic No. 1 2:26
C1 Orgone Accumulator 9:59
C2 Upside Down 2:43
C3 10 Seconds Of Forever 2:05
C4 Brainstorm 9:20
D1 7 By 7 6:13
D2 Sonic Attack 2:54
D3 Time We Left This World Today 5:47
D4 Master Of The Universe 7:37
D5 Welcome To The Future 2:03
Credits

Audio Generator, Electronics - Dik Mik
Bass, Vocals - Lemmy
Drums - Simon King
Guitar, Vocals - Dave Brock
Saxophone, Flute, Vocals - Nik Turner
Synthesizer - Del Dettmar
Vocals - Robert Calvert

Notes

Recorded live at Liverpool Stadium and Brixton Sundown.

Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Following the release of Doremi Fasol Latido the previous November, Hawkwind staged the concerts from which the live double-album Space Ritual was comprised. Hawkwind's visual side was always a large part of their concert event, from Liquid Len's (Jonathan Smeeton) kaleidoscopic light show to Amazonian dancer Stacia (Blake), the so-called "Barbarella of Notting Hill Gate." Although this visual artistry was reduced to a foldout gatefold cover, the album still presents the full-on live Hawkwind experience over four glorious sides of vinyl. Some of the material came from previous albums, and some of it was new, but none of that really matters. Throughout, Lemmy and Simon King's chug-a-chug rhythm is relentless as Hawkwind's space rock drives forward; the atmospheric synthesizers of Dik Mik and Del Dettmar and the spoken word of Robert Calvert, quite reminiscent of Arthur Brown here, provide interlude. Certainly closer to heavy metal than anything prog rock, Hawkwind's sound is guilty of being monochromatic—but never mind. The songs never really begin or end; the whole ship takes off, and at the end of the journey it stops, its grittiness always rendering it both genuine and enduring. The album reached No. 9 in the UK. Another single, the Calvert sung "Urban Guerilla" b/w "Brainbox Pollution," looked promising upon release, but was scuttled due to an IRA bombing campaign that coincided with its release. Hawkwind would spend the bulk of 1973 touring, reaching the US for the first time in the late fall. December saw a new tour begin, entitled The Ridiculous Roadshow.
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