Chances are good that if you were born after 1970, you’ve never
\nheard of Nektar. But while this British prog-rock group was
\novershadowed by fellow bands such as Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant,
\none can’t help but wonder why Nektar’s name isn’t mentioned in the
\nsame breath as other successful prog-rock outfits.<\/p>\n
A recent series of re-issues of the group’s early albums tries
\nto educate today’s schlock-pop generation about groups who dared to
\ndo something challenging — such as make real music — while
\nrefreshing the chemical-laced memories of the generation before.
\nI’ve got two of these four re-issues in my grimy little hands, and
\nI have to admit, it’s been an education for me as well.<\/p>\n
\nA Tab In The Ocean<\/i>, the second disc from guitarist\/vocalist
\nRoye Albrighton and crew, is a challenging listen which doesn’t
\nreveal its true colors to the listener until they’ve had some real
\ntime to digest it. The re-issue takes the original German mix from
\n1972 and compares it to the 1976 mix which American audiences heard
\n— and something tells me that had Americans heard the original mix
\nwhen it was first released, Nektar would have become a more revered
\nname.<\/p>\n
Before we delve into the review, there are two caveats we need
\nto address. First, I wasn’t sent a copy of Nektar’s debut CD,
\nJourney To The Centre Of The Eye<\/i>, so I can’t help but think
\nthat I’m missing out on some information which would have helped me
\ngo into
\nA Tab In The Ocean<\/i> with a clearer head. Still, when the
\nlabel is willing to send you anything hard-copy in this
\npost-Napster world, one can’t complain.<\/p>\n
Second, making comparisons between the two mixes is sure to
\nleave some raw nerves — after all, someone who grew up listening
\nto the 1976 mix is going to have a natural bias towards it, and
\nhaving me pooh-pooh it when compared to the original mix might not
\nendear your faithful reviewer to that person. Still, coming into
\nthis with an unbiased ear does help — and, truth be told, the 1972
\nmix is far superior to the American mix, which was sped up for some
\ncrazy reason.<\/p>\n
\nA Tab In The Ocean<\/i> is not the kind of album which the
\nlistener will warm up to with a cursory listen — indeed, the first
\ntime I heard the title track, I hated it. But if you are willing to
\ndevote some time to this album and allow the music to unfold in its
\nown parameters, it turns out to be a trip well worth your time and
\neffort. The title track alone reminds one of early Genesis,
\ncircling around Albrighton’s guitar and Allan “Taff” Freeman’s
\nkeyboard work and creating a real musical atmosphere. For a track
\nwhich clocks in at nearly 17 minutes, it passes very quickly. This,
\nkids, is the sign of a well-written song.<\/p>\n
The one track which may be familiar to today’s generation (or at
\nleast some people my age) is “King Of Twilight,” which was covered
\nsome time ago by Iron Maiden. It, too, is a highlight of this disc,
\nand is an excellent example of just how influential Nektar was in
\ntheir prime, even if they didn’t have the magnitude of success that
\nother prog-rock bands enjoyed. Maybe — just maybe — the quality
\nof their work in this regard is worth more.<\/p>\n
The remaining two tracks — “Desolation Valley \/ Waves” and
\n“Crying In The Dark” — have their moments, but are a shade weaker
\nin comparison to the two outstanding tracks. On a typical disc,
\nthis wouldn’t be a major deal, but
\nA Tab In The Ocean<\/i> consisted of only four songs, so the
\nsmall drop is more pronounced.<\/p>\n
The other factor which hurts this re-issue is the inclusion of
\nthe 1976 mix — a version which pales to the original German mix.
\nThe sped-up version of “A Tab In The Ocean” sounds like the band
\nperformed it on helium, and to this reviewer’s ears, adds nothing
\nto the legacy. (Again, I admit that if you grew up listening to the
\nUS mix, you’ll think I’m totally off-base; in that regard, we
\nshould agree to disagree.)<\/p>\n
Even after spending some time with this disc, I come away with
\nthe feeling that I haven’t yet experienced all that
\nA Tab In The Ocean<\/i> has to offer. At least I have the disc to
\ncontinue experimenting with this sonic world which Nektar created
\n— and, for the first time in a long time, you all can, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7059],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-38068","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-nektar","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38068"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}