Review: More than half a century on from the recording of this double live album from Ladbroke Grove space garage rockers Hawkwind, there's still no-one quite like them. Taking the raw grooves of MC5 and Stooges and combining them with Krautrock sensibilities and synth technology, the band would go on to inspire everyone from John Lydon - who confessed to lurking near the back of many a 'Wind show selling acid - to Henry Rollins, Ty Segal and Ministry, among many others. They also spawned Motorhead when Lemmy, featured on bass here, was ejected from the line up either for a) having a drugs record (officially) or b) taking too much of the limelight by singing on hit single 'Silver Machine' (allegedly), having already penned a track called 'Motorhead'.
This stoner favourite was recorded in 1972 at two venues, the 3,700 capacity Liverpool Stadium - not actually a stadium, but in fact the UK's first purpose-built boxing arena - and Brixton Sundown (now the Academy), as the band promoted their Doremi Fasol Latido album. It's almost certainly the best way to experience them in full flow too, letting rip with mind bending sonics and longing out their already epic jams, although moments like the more (in fact, extremely) relaxed 'Space Is Deep' proving a nice counterpoint to cosmic bruisers like 'Brainstorm' and 'Orgone Accumulator'. Both a priceless snapshot of the time and an enduring listen that still compels - not bad going for something 50-plus years old.
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