HAWKWIND

3.5 stars.This was quite different from what I imagined. Their second album "In Search Of Space" is a trippy laid back affair that I love and I thought this might be similar but with more of that folky feel.The big surprise for me is all of that dark and spacey atmosphere. I wasn't expecting that at all. So yeah a much better album than I was expecting given the ratings this one gets.

"Hurry On Sundown" was the single and it really is different from the rest of the songs except for the closer. It's a commercial sounding tune I tired of quickly. The harmonica is front and center each time the vocals stop. Love the line "There's hundereds of people like you and me". An upbeat song to start.

"The Reason Is ?" Has this spacey atmosphere that is actually quite haunting and dark. This is really the opposite of the opening track.

"Be Yourself" opens with guitar and cymbals then the bass and guitar joins in followed by vocals. Drums before 1 1/2 minutes after the vocals have stopped. Sax from Nik Turner before 2 minutes. Great sound here. The guitar starts to light it up after 4 minutes. Nice. Haunting synths are in the backgound as well. The intro is reprised after 6 1/2 minutes as it changes abruptly. Bass and an eerie vibe are featured on "Paranoia (Part 1)" while "Paranoia (Part 2) has cymbals and vocal expressions early on that build. A rhythm takes over as the vocals stop. Haunting synths before 3 minutes.The rhythm slows down to the end.

"Seeing It As You Really Are" has a dark and spacey atmosphere to start. Guitar and a beat join in at 2 1/2 minutes. It's pretty intense 5 minutes in. It then settles before 6 1/2 minutes then kicks back in after 8 minutes. Killer sound here. It's insane 10 1/2 minutes to end it.

"Mirror Of Illusion" opens with shakers as the sound starts to build and the vocals join in.The guitar before 2 minutes is raw and again after 4 1/2 minutes. This song is more like the opening track than the rest.

In the liner notes Dave brock relates that HAWKWIND originally tried to freak out the trippers and much of this debut is about trying to accomplish this. He says after that they then tried to levitate their minds through their music. "In Search Of Space" certainly pulled that off and they've been doing it ever since. So yeah this is their scary and eerie album apart from the opening and closing tracks.