I have been an independent music reviewer now for nearly 20
years, and with almost each new disc I listen to, I learn something
about this field which I never knew before. Case in point: having
listened to
Recycled, the 1975 release (and fourth studio effort) from
British prog-rockers Nektar, I never knew how much they influenced
bands like Marillion.
The recent re-issue of this disc, complete with two completely
different mixes of the album (including a previously-unissued mix
by Geoff Emerick), illustrates a band trying to merge the worlds of
progressive music and popular music without sacrificing too much to
either side. Working a concept into a good portion of the album and
having songs with little to no segue was a risky move, but nearly
30 years after this disc was first issued, it was a risk well worth
taking, and is a very enjoyable album.
Granted, Roye Albrighton and crew took on a difficult task by
creating an album in this vein, especially one on a touchy subject
— as the disc’s namesake suggests, it is a tale about our
throw-away society — and daring to be a bit preachy about it.
Granted, too, the way the songs intertwine, it would be hard to
pinpoint one song and call it a single. But all around, the key
word was “success” — even to the point of culling two songs,
“Flight To Reality” and “It’s All Over”, as a double A-side
single.
Musically, Nektar moves away a bit from the more traditional
prog leanings of an album like
A Tab In The Ocean, but they do so without seeming like
they’re sacrificing their art for the gamble of commercial success.
Tracks such as “Costa Del Sol,” “Flight To Reality” and “Marvellous
Moses” all demonstrate that Nektar was indeed at the top of their
game with this release.
But like its predecessors,
Recycled is not an album which the listener will get on a
cursory listen (though it’s a tad more accessible than
A Tab In The Ocean); rather, you’ll find the more time you
put into this one, the more you’ll take out of it. And, like its
predecessors (or at least the other one I’ve heard as of this
writing), the time is well worth the investment.
There is one major difference I picked up with this particular
re-issue, as compared to
A Tab In The Ocean. Whereas the inclusion of two different
mixes tended to hurt
A Tab, the contrasts in the two versions (namely, the
released version and Emerick’s mix) helps to highlight the music on
Recycled. Emerick’s has a more pop-sounding mix and is a
shade crisper, while the final version is more prog-based and
richer in sound (in no small part due to the inclusion of a chorus
which is interspersed through the disc).
Listening to
Recycled undoubtedly will bring some comparisons to early
Marillion albums, especially
Misplaced Childhood. This is indeed meant as a compliment to
both Marillion and Nektar, as both groups essentially looked at
their musical target with these releases and nailed it — that is,
at least as far as I can remember, since it’s been a while since I
dusted off
Misplaced Childhood.
Recycled is a disc which should be welcomed back with open
arms not only by aging prog-rock fans who remember Nektar’s salad
days, but also today’s generation who want to hear what real music,
not pre-packaged schlock-pop, used to sound like. Bands like Nektar
are indeed rare today in the commercial music market — and, merely
for their existence, we should indeed be thankful.
