X IN SEARCH OF SPACE

This is one of the best Hawkwind albums, thanks to the gigantic You Shouldn't do That, a song that is difficult to describe due to the spacey Synthesizer Explorations, touches or jazz rock (with lots of sax improvisation) and some cacophonic repetitive sounds that create a very psychedelic effect. Not only that, the song lasts more than fifteen minutes, which was not so common in 71. Definitely, a true statement of the anarchic art of these fellows.

Besides that, the album features different things, with Master of the Universe being the closest to what would be known as the trademark Hawkwind sound, while You Know You're Only Dreaming and We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago are very spacey, but gentler and even a bit folkier, giving a nice flavor for the album, with it's different moods. It is like they were doing calm and contemplative counterpoints to the intense and denser songs of the album.

The band would still need some years to evolve to the more recognizable and polished sound of their mid and late seventies album that became their trademark sound. But X in Search of Space is a raw diamond that makes it one of the most interesting prog albums of 1971.