Short Reviews [Nektar - 1974 - "Down to Earth"]

1974 saw the release of the fifth studio album by the classic Nektar line-up of Roye Albrighton (guitars, lead vocals), “Mo” Moore (bass, vocals), “Taff” Freeman (keyboards, vocals), Ron Howden (drums, percussion) and Mick Brockett (visual minority, general hassles). Loosely based on a circus theme, with guests such as Bob Calvert (who played the part of the ringmaster), PP Arnold (backing vocals) and Dieter Dierks (effects) plus many others, it has now been reissued by Esoteric in a 4CD extended version with notes by Mo and Mick (the only surviving members of the band) and an essay by Mark Powell which is simply fascinating and full of information. This set includes the original album, remastered, plus the Chipping Norton mix of the same. When they were close to the end of the recording, they decided to celebrate Mo’s birthday on March 27th by having a live jam session running through ideas, and the result of that is included here. It provided five new songs (plus a jazzier version of “Desolation Valley”, one of which was “One Mile Red” which became a staple of their live show for a while but was never “properly” recorded. If that wasn’t enough, discs 3 and 4 provide us with a concert recorded at The Kiel Auditorium, St Louis, on 2nd April 1975. Nektar appear to be coming more and more appreciated these days and given that within their home country they never fully gained the success and kudos they so richly deserve, it is great to see. This album saw the band provide a more songs-based approach as they moved away from what had happened with ‘Remember The Future’, but back then they were always on the road or briefly in the studio, always looking to what was coming next and rarely repeating what had come before. This means that fans always had to be ready to be taken on a journey each time, as this is quite different to earlier releases, but in some ways has actually aged as one of the best. OK, so I am always disappointed that the instrumental “Nelly the Elephant” is not a revised version of “Nellie the Elephant” (check out the version by Toy Dolls, it is insane), but Bob Catley’s speech and the horns definitely show a band moving in a very different direction, more influenced by Chicago than the other prog bands around at the time. Symphonic, yet with an angular German approach, here is an album which more than 50 years on from when it was originally released is still an absolute delight, showing the band experimenting yet always staying true to the Nektar sound. Easy to listen to, yet never easy listening, here is another fine example of how to handle a reissue by Esoteric and with the live concert including songs like “King of Twilight” and “A Day In The Life Of A Preacher” what is there not to like?