Khan - Space Shanty (Deram 1972) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

Khan were the almost legendary Steve Hillage (later of Gong and ongoing solo success), Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield and the North, National Health), Nick Greenwood (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) and Eric Peachy (Dr. K’s Blues Band). Their lifespan was short but that matters not – Space Shanty is an ambitious, sometimes flawed vestige by which to remember them.
A concept album of sorts, Space Shanty rings with otherworldly sounds, over-sincere vocals, winding guitar passages and Dave Stewart’s ethereal organs creating an interstellar undercurrent. Everything a progressive rock album should have.
With six tracks ranging from five to ten minutes in length, Khan tick all the boxes on the progressive rock checklist with a sound that’s not a hundred miles from Camel’s Moonmadness, albeit four years prior to that release. It also suggests the direction Steve Hillage was headed in – even with his musical career in its infancy – influenced by the avant-garde Canterbury scene and showcasing the experimental flair for which he’d receive prog rock adulation on Gong’s “Radio Gnome Trilogy” and beyond.
Space Shanty is a solid, if occasionally understated example of progressive rock. The kernel of the far-out, space-age voyaging of Hillage’s later years, a psychedelic blend of arty space-rock and progressive organ noodling that takes us into the realms of sci-fi authors Brian Aldiss and Larry Niven. Head Full of Snow.com



Track listing:

A1. Space Shanty
Including The Cobalt Sequence and March of the Sine Squadrons
A2. Stranded
Including Effervescent Psychonovelty No. 5
A3. Mixed Up Man of the Mountains

B1. Driving To Amsterdam
B2. Stargazers
B3. Hollow Stone
Including Escape of the Space Pirates

Personnel:

Steve Hillage – Guitars, vocals
Nick Greenwood – Bass, vocals
Eric Peachey – Drums
With Dave Stewart – Organ, piano, skyceleste, marimbas
Produced by Neil Slaven for Gruggy Woof
Recorded at Command, Olympic and Tollington Park Studios.