Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido (1972, United Artists)

According to back of the jacket, this record is “a collection of ritualistic space chants, battle hymns and stellar songs of praise as used by the family clan of Hawkwind on their epic journey to the fabled land of Thorasin.” Even Astal, High Priestess of Xenon Mentet 12753 had this to say about it : “La beslas pan hrak lelo hrakasosas kamavor na.”

This is Hawkwind’s third album, but the first featuring the ‘classic’ lineup with the new rhythm section of Lemmy on bass and Simon King on drums. This change seemed to make the jazz influence of the previous records a little less obvious while emphasizing the driving rock aspect of the group’s sound. Recordings of a few shows from the tour supporting this album resulted in Hawkwind’s masterpiece, and arguably the greatest live album ever, 1973’s double lp Space Ritual.

I recommend bong rips and excessive volume, as I’ve yet to find a person that didn’t dig this record under these circumstances!