Hawkwind — Psychedelic Selection

Psychedelic Selection is a recent CD or 2 LP release from British space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Instead of an all-new album- it’s somewhat of a bits ‘n’ bobs release- bringing together a couple of brand-new tracks, new recordings of old tracks, and lesser-known tracks from their past.

The release comes presented in a glossy four-panel digipak; this features a neon-on-black design. On the front cover, we have coloured lights reflected in a nighttime water picture, and on its reverse is a neo-edged ticket office with the track listing on a chalkboard above it. There’s also a glossy twelve-page inlay booklet, with a short write-up about the collection, as well as full credits for each of the fifteen tracks featured.

We kick off with the two fully new tracks, and they very much earn the release's title. First, we have just under two minutes of “Four Legs, Two Legs Bad” which opens with a mix vibe like keyboard, male spoken word elements, and a selection of loud in the mix animal/ insect field recordings. Before later moving into proper singing- though the field recordings remain. Next is “There Are Faires In The Garden” which lasts around five minutes. It blends circling, gliding/ synth lines, soaring guitar tones, layered vocals that go from hushed/ effect edged, a more pounding/ rocky chorus, and a general floating/ trippy vibe. I enjoyed both tracks, and certainly the first track brought to mind The Legendary Pink Dots.

As we move through the rest of the album consists of re-recordings & lesser-heard tracks. These move from a re-recording of “The Demented Man” originally from 1975’s Warrior At The Edge Of Time- which finds more layers of swoon, wail, sparkle, and lushness added to this classic ballad by the band. We have a nice new, gunning ‘n’ soaring version of “PSI Power” from 1978’s 25 Years On album.

We return to more psychedelic territory with “The Judge And The Fishman” from 1985’s The Chronicle of the Black Sword. The track opens quirky tip-tapping percussion, subdued horn piping, and a female voice reading some tripped-out text. Before launching into an instrumental track mixing bounding-yet-playful guitar, all manner of springs, pops, and honking sound effects. The album plays out with a 2025 version of “Traveller Of Space” from their last album, 2024's Stories from Time and Space. They rather mellow/ smooth out the track, removing the original album's more jammed-out ending.

Psychedelic Selection is decent enough stop-gap until the next proper new Hawkwind album, as it brings together promising new tracks, neat re-recordings, and rewarding lesser-known tracks.