Nektar : Down to Earth 1974

The story of Nektar is a remarkable one. A British rock band that found stardom and success in Germany and the USA, yet failed to make the significant breakthrough in their own country. With three gold albums under their belt (“Remember the Future”, “Down to Earth” and “Recycled”), Nektar produced some of the most original work of the seventies.

In virtuoso guitarist Roye Albrighton Nektar had a charismatic front man who had shared a stage with Jimi Hendrix, in Allan “Taff” Freeman a unique keyboard player, in Derek “Mo” Moore a bass playing powerhouse and in Ron Howden a fluidity rarely found in a drummer. Fifth member Mick Brockett was not a musician, but was responsible for one of the most stunning light and visual shows ever to grace the rock stage.

The roots of Nektar lay in Hamburg in 1970. The band Prophecy, (featuring Freeman, Moore and Howden), were performing in the legendary Star Club. It was here that Prophecy met an extremely talented guitarist Roye Albrighton, also playing the German club circuit. Disillusioned with his own outfit, Albrighton was approached by Prophecy to join them as a guitar player. Light technician Mick Brockett (who had worked with Pink Floyd in the late sixties), had been providing visual backdrops for Prophecy in Germany and was invited to become a permanent fixture in the new band. Opting for a name change, Nektar was born.

The four Englishmen who formed the initial incarnation of Nektar met in Germany and formed the band there in 1969.
They met in 1968 at the Star Club, where they discovered some common ground in the Beatles as well as early rock & roll, but were drawn to the more experimental sounds just beginning to emerge on the rock scene.

A year later they formed Nektar and began working at combining these influences into an effective whole. By 1970, with a light show (designed and operated by unofficial fifth member Mick Brockett) added to their stage act, they began attracting a growing following in Germany.

Nektar's sound, built around guitar, electronic keyboards, and bass, was far more gothic, with dense textures that didn't always reproduce well on-stage , but the fans didn't seem to notice.

On radio, however, their music filled in large patches of time and attracted listeners ready to graduate from Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge, and seeking a re-creation of the drug experience in progressive rock.

Their next album, Down to Earth (1974), featured ten support musicians and singers, among them P.P. (Pat) Arnold

The release of a double-LP best-of anthology in 1978 heralded the end of the group's run of success during the decade

During the 2000s, Nektar’s albums have included The Prodigal Son (2001), Evolution (2004), and Book of Days (2007). The live album Fortyfied was issued in 2009.

TRAXS

1. Astral Man : 3:07
2. Nelly the Elephant : 5:02
3. Early Morning Clown : 3:21
4. That's Life : 6:49
5. Fidgety Queen : 4:04
6. Oh Willy : 4:00
7. Little Boy : 3:03
8. Show Me the Way : 5:55
9. Finale : 1:36

Format : Vinyl LP
Label : Belllaphone - Bacilus Records
Made : Germany
Genre : Progressive Rock

Take it HERE Flac 


Για τον φιλαράκο που γουστάρει κλασικά όμορφα καλούδια
...Κι αν το βρήτε κάπου σ΄αυτή την εκτύπωση από τη συγκεκρημένη εταιρεία
γράψτε μου Κινέζικα .
(Δεν το λέω για να πουλήσω μούρη , πολύ στ' αρχίδια μου ,
απλά το βρήκα σ΄ένα δισκάδικο της Βόρειας Ιταλίας
όπου το είχαν στις προσφορές για πέταμα )