Hawkwind – Space Ritual (1973)

September 24, 2024

I’m probably going to catch some shit for this but Space Ritual has always been one of those albums that I *thought* I loved, rather than an album that I genuinely loved. I have slowly come to terms with that in recent months. There may be some correlation between me accepting this and the lack of cannabis in my life for nearly a decade. Is there a chance that there is a correlation between the two things? It’s possible.

Space Ritual is not quite self-indulgent, but it is very self-absorbed. Round and round the band go, on a cosmic quest to explore the very reaches of infinity, but instead it seems their space ship has gotten stuck in the orbit of a planet that’s full of prog rock and jam band fans. Instead of careening to the far-reaches of the galaxy, on Space Ritual, Hawkwind are permanently stuck in this circular orbit. Sure, it’s entertaining, but is it really groundbreaking? I’m going to say no.