Hawkwind
Space Ritual
The space ritual Rolling Stone called a rehash
Released in the UK on 11 May 1973, Space Ritual became Hawkwind's commercial peak and a defining live space-rock document. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Niester dismissed the album as a rehash of In Search of Space, writing that 'the unsold copies are apparently re-released and resold at regular prices. And that simply makes Space Ritual, In Search of Space twice'. He mocked the bassist (Lemmy) for 'playing his same two notes', said the band's idea of dynamics 'consists of turning the volume controls up or down', and concluded: 'At the very least, Hawkwind's continued existence proves that somebody out there is still doing acid.'
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Alan Niester's original Rolling Stone review of 31 January 1974. The album is now ranked #8 in Mojo and Q's '40 Cosmic Rock Albums' (2005), appears in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and is widely cited as a seminal influence on space rock, heavy psych and proto-punk.
