LEVITATION

Levitation sits right next to Warrior in the circle of excellent Hawkwind albums. The excessive improvisations had been stripped from their studio albums for a few years already and this album is no exception. But the new wave influences from the 77-79 years have gone and Hawkwind returned to their known space rock sound. So what you get is a set of short songs strung together with short interludes and spacey instrumentals.

With only 37 minutes it is of course very short for modern standards but because there aren't any weak tracks, it's just enough to be enjoyable. The title track is the best known, exists in countless live versions and must be covered by many bands (a very good version of Amorphis comes to mind). Motorway City opens with that instantly recognizable trademark Hawkwind riff. A three-chord progression spread over 4 bars with that typical strumming cadence going taa-dada-dada-dada-... Simple but effective. Who's Gonna Win the War is a bit of a drag but the chorus is too catchy to ignore. The high point is kept till the end. The last batch of songs form almost one coherent track with lots of spacey grooves and melodies. Too bad The Fifth Second is so short; it had the potential for at least twice its length.

Not as essential as Space Ritual, Warrior On The Edge of Time or Quark Strangeness and Charm, but close to them in quality. Unfortunately, it turned out to be for the last time that they achieved that on a studio album for the rest of their carreer.