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Liner Note Author: Ian Abrahams. Recording information: Cambridge Corn Exchange (01/27/1972). Considering how much live Hawkwind material is on the shelves, it is shocking how little survives from what most people consider to be their prime era -- 1971-1974 -- when the classic lineup created the classic canon and set the scene for all that the band would come to epitomize. This set, taped in Cambridge, England in early 1972 is doubly remarkable, then; not only is it the third earliest known recording of the band in full flight, it is also rendered in remarkably high quality: two factors that do not always go hand in hand. Ten tracks catch the band on the tails of 1971's In Search of Space album; its contents dominate the set, alongside the first glimmerings of what would emerge at year's end as the Space Ritual stage set, and an early taste of "Silver Machine," the song that would ultimately grant the Hawks the most unlikely hit single of the year (and hands up everyone who's noticed how close Rocky Horror's "Time Warp" orbits that leviathan riff)! The established epics "Master of the Universe," "Shouldn't Do That," and the encore "Born to Go" dominate the performance; "Paranoia" hangs on from the debut LP and "You Know You're Only Dreaming" reminds us that Hawkwind were never a simple riff machine. All of which means that comparisons between this set and the Greasy Truckers show a few weeks later (and also available on CD) are inevitable. But do not allow the purchase of one to dissuade you from the other. Each and every Hawkwind show from this era has proven a precious performance, and Leave No Star Unturned is as valuable a document as you are going to find. ~ Dave Thompson
