At the time of its release, band leader Dave Brock stated: "with Levitation we’ve come full circle back to the style of our debut album. And that was the record which totally expressed our ideals and what we stood for." It is their first studio album after the departure of lead vocalist and lyricist Robert Calvert, and lyrics here tend to be cursory and the number of instrumentals is increased. It is also the only studio Hawkwind album to feature ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker and first for ex-Gong keyboardist Tim Blake, who would later return to the band and play on 2010's "Blood of the Earth".