HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL

Talk about re-inventing yourself. Simon House's arrival coincided with a fairly dramatic change of direction for Hawkwind on Hall Of The Mountain Grill (1974). Despite all their electronic shenanigans, I had previously felt that Hawkwind's brand of Space Rock was earthbound rather than earth-shattering. I never really got the point of their lengthy single chord jams either, but then the strongest substance that ever went up my nostrils was Vick's Sinex! For me at least, House's Mellotron and electric violin finally managed to truly etherealise Hawkwind's sound.

THE PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS is classic Hawkwind featuring a great guitar riff underscored by Mellotron, and a nice saxophone improvisation by Nik Turner midway through the song. However, it is also tuneful with a catchy hook. The emotive WIND OF CHANGE is completely different but equally good and showcases House's prowess on the violin, backed by his own Mellotron and Brock's organ. The Turner composition D-RIDER is the third top-notch track in succession and begins with choppy guitar, swirling electronics and despairing oboe, before bursting into life with phasing and Simon King's drum fills.

The remainder of the album doesn't manage to reach the same heights as the three aforementioned tracks, although YOU'D BETTER BELIEVE IT is a good rocker that precipitates punk and features some fevered fiddling. The Simon House-penned title track is a dark, ambient instrumental and is another worthwhile piece, although there aren't really any duff tracks on the album. Many view Space Ritual as the definitive Hawkwind album, but if you're new to the band and a symphonic fan then you might want to start here.