HAWKWIND

"Hawkwind" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by UK psychadelic/space rock act Hawkwind. The album was released through Liberty Records in August 1970. The album didn´t see an US release until 1971 through United Artists Records. Hawkwind was formed in 1969 by Dave Brock and Mick Slattery, who had both played in Famous Cure. The band started out playing long unstructured psychadelic jams and by the time they were signed, they didn´t have much of anything written. They were signed because of their live shows/stage presence.

After several fruitless attempts of re-creating their raw psychadelic jams in the studio, it was decided that the band should record the album live in the studio to better capture the essence of their music. Therefore most of the material on the album are live in the studio jams. The exceptions are "Hurry On Sundown" and "Mirror Of Illusion", which bookend the album. Both feature more regular vers/chorus parts, although they are both certainly still psychadelic in nature.

The musicianship is strong on the album and it´s obvious these guys are used to jam together. It comes natural to them and they are a tight playing unit. The Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor (who was briefly a member of Hawkwind), was brought in to produce the album, and considering that most of the album was recorded live in the studio, the end result is well sounding. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.