Hawkwind – “Space Ritual Sundown V2″ 2XLP [Album As Art #62]

[DOWNLOAD Hawkwind's Space Ritual HERE]

Of all the bands destined to carry the torch of both Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd into the stratosphere, Hawkwind arguably were the most successful at delivering a product both scary and psych-inspired, brutal yet artsy.

And now I flash back to a friend’s apartment in Glens Falls. His girlfriend, now-wife, has an extensive record collection (Spacemen 3, Big Star, Red House Painters — the works); together they have a nice army going. I notice she has an original copy of Hawkwind‘s Space Ritual and I mention I have a reissue entitled Space Ritual Sundown V2, at which point she rebuffs me with a statement to the effect that reissues aren’t acceptable; only the first edition of a record is worth having.

I agree with that to a certain extent, as in, only if the record in question is still available at reasonable prices. If I’m going to have to shell out $50 or more for an original, however, I have NO problem buying a heavyweight-vinyl reissue as long as the feel is pretty faithful and the pricetag at least 3/4 less than the original goes for on eBay.

Space Ritual? Yep, never seen it in a record store as of yet, so I was happy to plunk down for this neon-blue/orange 2XLP, a classic in the realm of ’70s blues-rock-psych-metal. Just look at the pics above — this is a worthy repress, the vinyl dutifully heavy, the artwork, as far as I know, hewing close to the source.

All that’s left once you lay your greedy hands on this classic is to sit back as your butt melts like cheesy over a brisket sandwich on Texas toast and your brain pitter-pitter-plum-plum-POPs.

There’s a lot of punk presence here, too. Lost in the attention Hawkwind got for all their star-chasing tendencies was their snarling intensity as they locked into a riff, the bassist never staying put but somehow keeping the groove charging forward like only a top-notch rudder can.

And that saxophone blasting! It’s become commonplace over the last half-decade or so to skronk up a sax or two in the noise/no-wave/indie scene (Black Eyes, any number of Thurston Moore-related projects, Gay Beast), so when you hear Hawkwind do it you might not notice the reality — that they were one of the first psychedelic rock band to incorporate a saxophone into their attack so prominently (I’m sure there are precedents here — the Stooges might have even done something similar now that I think about it).

I’ve never been a big fan of early Genesis, King Crimson or Porcupine Tree. Hell, even Blue Cheer don’t do much for me (though all I’ve heard is their rendition of “Summertime Blues” and a few others). Hawkwind are the one band that live up to all the hype bestowed upon them and more. It’s a small wonder Lemmy left the Hawk and found fame as Motorhead‘s frontman, as his former band were easily the equal of what was to come (many would drag me on concrete for miles for saying that, but it’s true) and an inspiration to a ton of great modern bands like Comets On Fire, Boris, The Sights, Psychic Paramount, Ghost, Acid Mothers Temple and a ton of others I don’t have time to detail here.