It's been an eternity since I've writhed to a record on a physical level, but I still recall fondly those stoned hours spent engrossed in Butterfield's East-West and Love's Revelation. In Search Of Space recalls those days for me and at the same time serves as a sentinel of a fast-growing genre of rock; science fiction, experimental rock. This album is light years ahead of Hawkwind's first and compares favorably to Paul Kantner's Blows Against The Empire like 2001: A Space Odyssey compares to It Came From Outer Space. Hawkwind has learned, and taken what it could from such predecessors as Pink Floyd and the Moody Blues, built their music around an original concept and have produced an exceptional package.

I say package because included with the record is the "Hawkwind Log": a Whole Earth-catalogue-type compilation of quotes, pictures and data, as well as the daily journal of the two-dimensional spacecraft "Hawkwind." It notes that the remains of the spacecraft were found near the South Pole in July of last year. The log is original, intriguing: far above the usual quality of such album enclosures.

The music itself is an adventure in sound, full of raw excitement, suspense and rich climaxes. Though it isn't totally pleasing to the ear, I enjoyed all of it as I was drawn into its atmosphere. Of course, to fully obtain that effect, I suggest a slightly altered state of consciousness and, if available, a good pair of headphones. You will learn as you get to know the record which points to grit your teeth and clutch the chair and even when to slowly increase the volume to coincide with the final climax. The rest of the time you can sit there, oblivious to all around you, reading and listening. In Search Of Space is totally unique; worth owning simply for the instant audio-visual experience you can have. It has something no other record can give you.

- Jeff Walker, Phonograph Record, 5/72.

Bonus Reviews!

In this, their second LP, Hawkwind nearly brings to fruition its claim of being a truly "mind-expanding" rock group. Their music is forcefully compelling, electronic and repetitive. Listening to this LP is virtually a "trip" in itself, an air of decadent sarcasm prevails. This LP is essentially an auditory Star Trek. Highlights are "We Took The Wrong Step" and "You Know You're Only Dreaming."

- Billboard, 1972.

With the whoosh of synthesizers and audio generators propelling them into the nether reaches of circa-'68 space rock, Hawkwind extends the limits of what were once familiar musical frontiers. Without the hysteria of pseudo-psychedilia, they explore the expressive possibilites of such once-trite techniques as phase distortion and frequency filtering. Makes you wonder what the Stones' Satanic Majesties would sound like if it came out today instead of way back when.

- Steve Ditlea, Circus, 7/72.

Psychedelic rangers from England go one up on Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream, and maybe Sun Ra too. Their best studio date.

- Michael G. Nastos, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

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