Before the British band Nektar gained international fame with their most progressive rock album Recycled (1975), they already had some success on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Especially Nektar's second American release Remember The Future (1973) brought the band briefly mass popularity. This album has now been reissued in a special deluxe 2CD digipack. The re-release of this classic prog rock album by the unsung heroes of spacey conceptual art rock features the best available audio quality. This record that put the band on the map reached the 19th position on the US charts and set the stage for the group's first American tour later on! This reissue includes some bonus material as well consisting of three radio promos and the rare and highly sought after Boston Tapes, the earliest recordings in the band's existence! The concept album Remember The Future was Nektar's fourth; it features only one long song divided into two parts. The story is about a blind boy who communicates with an extra-terrestrial being. At the time the music was a big leap forward having a much more melodic sound than their previous three albums which were difficult to digest for most people. Many times those albums featured long instrumental jam-like parts which were performed spontaneously in the studio. On Remember The Future the music became more mainstream and radio-friendly. However, they never forgot to be a progressive rock outfit which means that the music remained enjoyable to their long-time fans. On the first disc you can enjoy the original album. It's obvious that mainly the first part of Remember The Future opened the doors to the American music market. Very often the harmony vocals and the guitar parts have a style of music that was popular at the time in the USA. The second part shows Nektar in the style they played on their previous efforts which slightly resembles early Pink Floyd and other bands from that era. The second disc contains the radio edits of Remember The Future, Let It Grow and Lonely Roads. These rather short songs were especially recorded for the American market. This cannot be said of the 1970 Boston Tapes, the other bonus tracks on the second disc. Here Nektar have clearly been influenced by The Beatles, although touches of early Pink Floyd can be heard as well. This reissue is certainly a must have for all the fans of Nektar even if they already possess earlier re-releases of this album. The sound of this one is way better and the additional disc makes it worth buying although the music isn't always that interesting! So check this one out! ***+ Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
