I’ve purposefully not mentioned Hawkwind so far, but 1974 certainly warrants their mention. Space rock was always a definite “sub-genre” of the prog scene at the time and as the name suggests, space rock was based around science fiction or astronomical themes. This was no surprise in the 1960s as this had been mankind’s first flirtation with outer space and the sub-genre grew out of the 1960s psychedelic scene with bands like the Beatles and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. But probably the most important band in the development of space rock were early Pink Floyd, who truly created an ambient space rock mood. But it would be Hawkwind that would take space rock and turn it into a heavier creature, as the band created their own unique melange of bluesy psychedelic rock, based around an ambience of electronica with strong experimental touches and with their collaboration with esteemed science fiction writer Michael Moorcock was also another strong element. The band certainly played heavy and were well known for their heavy impenetrable sound, that took the listener multiple listens to fully divulge what was being offered (they certainly shared similar ground to BOC here) Between 1970 and 1974 the band had put out five albums, that not only shaped their own sound but laid the foundations and immortalized the band within the space rock tag. Hawkwind were rather similar to Jethro Tull and King Crimson, in that they were essentially the baby of one man and that man was Dave Brock who has figured in every line-up of the band since their inception. The band appealed to an array of listeners ranging from proggers to metal heads (the reason why they’re here) and of course the Lemmy connection to the future Motorhead provides a strong link as well. Not only did the band concentrate on giving us a dense sound, but they also gave us hard-edged concert performances that would become pillars of what extravagant concert performances should be all about.

Hawkwind: The debut album is where the Hawkwind legend started and despite not being quite up to some of the albums that followed, it is still a much loved album amongst aficionados of the band and the band members that recorded it. A decent album overall that has the band finding their niche.
X In Search of Space: One of the essential releases in the whole discography, which is centred around Dave Brock’s pulsating guitar, Nik Turner’s sax and Del Dettmar on synths. The hypnotic sound of the band is evident throughout this album, with the stand out track being the 15 plus minute “You Shouldn’t Do That” and it's one of the band's most popular albums.
Doremi Fasol Lasol: This is often seen as an album that divides opinion between Hawkwind fans and also the album that marked the debut of Lemmy. The songs are there and the band give us their heaviest effort to date. It was often felt that some of the spark was lost on this album and the songs only really came alive on the following year’s live album Space Ritual.
Space Ritual: Without doubt one of the quintessential live double albums of the 1970s, as Hawkwind brought their live bonanza to vinyl and gave us 88 minutes worth of a live rock opera. The album incorporated the bulk of the previous year’s Doremi Fasol Latido and may rank as the most important album in the band’s discography and essential to any album collection.
Hall of the Mountain Grill: If Space Ritual was the band’s finest hour, then the Hall of the Mountain Grill ranks as their best ever studio effort. The album has often been described as the ultimate ‘space rock’ record and every cut on the album is an example of a band at the peak of their powers, all highlighted by some impressive guitar work throughout.