Spirals in Hyperspace

Ozric Tentacles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 16, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Magna Carta
• ASIN: B0001IN06W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,582 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Chewier

2. Spirals In Hyperspace

3. Slinky

4. Toka Tola

5. Plasmoid

6. Oakum

7. Akasha

8. Psychic Chasm

9. Zoemetra

Editorial Reviews

Psych, prog, trance, electronica, ambient, techno, dance, jam, space. These are some of the musical territories where OT camps out. Based around the inventive guitar work, soundscapes and compositions of Ed Wynne, Ozric Tentacles’ history has been one of never paying attention to the fashion of the time. For those music enthusiasts who make it their business to seek out the best and most creative music on the planet, OT have been a source of wonder and joy for more than twenty years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Troubling Trend...., March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Spirals in Hyperspace (Audio CD)

First the good news, if you're a direhard Ozric fan check this album out. It is an interesting extension of their sound, and contains some places they have never gone before in their back catelogue.

Now for the bad news....I find "Spirals in Hyperspace" to be by Ozric standards a bit of a dissapointment. Admittedly the production is excellent and there are still lots of creative moments, however Spirals continues a troubling trend toward Ed Wynne monarchy. Consider that only 3 tracks have live drums, and 1 track featuring live bass. This gives the mix an even more synthetic feel than normal, as well as a lack of compositional "chemistry" as its pretty much Ed behind the controls. The songs as forementioned do include inspired and creative moments however many seem overall to have an unfocused feel. Rather than having an overall riff, theme, or melody, which holds the song together, the songs on Spirals begin and just seem to go wherever they please. Those familiar with Ozrics music know this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I however feel like it is done to an excessive degree here and which doesn't really work overall. Finally there is the obvious disparagment of the live band tracks and the Ed solo programing which makes it seem less unified than a tradtional Ozric album.

In all this album is way better than no album....but leaves much to be desired.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fasten your seat belt.., September 10, 2004

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirals in Hyperspace (Audio CD)

Here those wacky lads go again. For close to twenty years the Tentacles have carved out their own niche in music, spinning out one sensory trip after another full of swirly atmospheres and mind-expanding psychedelic grooves. That basic sound hasn't fundamentally changed in that time; their specialty is still one of super-tasty wild sonic colors, spinning jam-band ethos and wild psychedelia into an otherworldly trance of electro-space rock. Until some mad genius shares the secret phase-shift portal to dimension Z with the rest of humanity, music like this is the closest thing to the experience we'll probably have.

So if you've heard them before, you have a good idea what to expect. The difference from previous discs here is in the prominence of electronics: over the Ozric career there's been a gradual shift from earthy tribal rhythms to a more techno-oriented sound, and Spirals in Hyperspace has more programming and twiddly bits than ever before. (I couldn't resist.. this is the kind of music that phrases like 'twiddly bits' were invented for.) The only disappointment, as has been pointed out, is that this recording doesn't really show what divine fire the group can make when they're collectively hitting on all cylinders. It's more of a studio collage pieced together by founder Ed Wynne, who handles most of the tweaking and programming.. and synth.. and well, basically most of everything. That's not to say that there isn't a good helping of real live playing throughout this disc, but it's minced & blended with a good helping of hyper beats and dance-floor thuds. Add a somewhat higher-than-usual amount of synth riffs/atmospheres and far-out guitar effects, and you've got the most cosmic Ozric album yet.

For a taste of the collective band at work, go back and try The Hidden Step first; if you think you'd prefer the more acoustic/ethnic percussion, go for Pungent Effulgent or the masterpiece Erpland. I say this one's worth some good spins despite the studio-crafted factor. Even if it doesn't quite reach the plateau of maximum Ozrictude, this batch of textures is still one tasty ride.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A band falling apart, January 6, 2012

By 

Javier - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirals in Hyperspace (Audio CD)

This album sadly captures a band falling apart. The rest of the band had little input into Ed's ego project. Compared to their prior albums there is no comparison. Worse was to come with the awful Paper Monkeys and Yum Yum tree. Very Sad indeed.