X IN SEARCH OF SPACE

I like Hawkwind's sound and style and I like several moments of their sophomore IN SEARCH OF SPACE. That space between my ears has heard Hawkwind through later releases and is either bored with how little the overall change has come along or disappointed that a chronological journey wasn't taken into this group. It's the same feeling I have about Koenjihyakkei's second effort; I would have enjoyed it much more had I discovered it earlier.

''You Shouldn't Do That'' got old, not because the jam is bad, but because the song has less to offer than later jams that are shorter. Hawkwind jamming out a song was always an unsure thing, but here it sounds slightly transparent. Beneath the raucous exterior, we get slightly better than average ideas extended for a bit too long. That or maybe the production is somewhat thin. ''Adjust Me'' and ''We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago'' are perfect examples of the band letting the tape run for too long. I never have figured out the former track, especially the odd poem recited at the beginning which goes through someone fooling with the knob that controls the playback speed.

The acoustic moments are nice, especially the closing ''Children of the Sun'' (the high point of the album). ''You Know You're Only Dreaming'' could have been the same way except it goes into familiar Hawkwind territory (and for too long). I enjoy the proto-psych-metal sound of the whole album like on ''Master of the Universe'', but by now you know my familiar gripe. I think I've burnt out my love for Hawkwind on DOREMI and WARRIOR to the point where I start phasing out on other Hawkwind releases.

The Hawkwind people are nice enough to give us some bonus material to fawn over, even if they aren't really THAT worthy of fawning over. Of note is their big number (I don't know if ''hit'' is the right word to use) in ''Silver Machine'' with a tempo that seems to pull a BATMAN THEME in that I can never figure out what the tempo really is.