A collection of huge, metronomic epics and wistful, lysergically-tinged ballads with electronics pushed to the fore as everything funneled through a battery of echo, reverb and phasing. In Search of Space showed how hard Hawkwind had willed themselves forward in terms of both arrangement and performance, creating a collection of material that for all its hard-won confidence was still as roughhewn as ever. Indeed, the sound of the album reflects the decision of several members� requests that their own tracks be turned down and this resulting in a weirdly hollow, highly imbalanced and inadvertent space rock dub mix years ahead of its time.

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-psychedelia, they explore the expressive possibilites of such once-trite techniques as phase distortion and frequency filtering.

The music itself is an adventure in sound, full of raw excitement, suspense and rich climaxes. I enjoyed all of it as I was drawn into its atmosphere. 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.

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