Recently, The Ancient One has reviewed both Journey To The Centre Of The Eye and Remember The Future from Nektar, as both early albums were re-mastered and re-issued, but this album, Time Machine,
is a shiny, brand new album. Still present from the original band
line-up are Roye Albrighton (guitars) and Ron Howden (drums), who are
joined in this current Nektar line-up by Klaus Henatsch (keyboards and
vocals) and Lux Vibratus (bass). I am also guessing that the name of the
bass player might not actually be his real name? Apparently, during the
recording of the album, Billy Sherwood (he does get about, does he
not?) was the bass player and Lux joined the band shortly after that
point.
An interesting quote about the album that seems to be doing the rounds is that Roye Albrighton claims that Time Machine
is the best album Nektar have recorded. Certainly a bold claim,
especially considering some of the early Nektar albums, and while not
normally a person to disagree with the comments of a band member, in
this case, I feel I have to. The reasons for this comment will be
revealed as we progress through the review.
Time Machine
is a 10 track album with a running time of around 66 minutes. Shortest
track on the album is track 8, “Talk To Me,” with a playing time of 3:55
minutes and at 10:14 minutes, the final track, “Diamond Eyes,” is the
longest.
Highlights from Time Machine,
and there are several to choose from, would be the opening track, “A
Better Way,” track 3, “Destiny” and track 5, the title track, “Time
Machine.”
“A
Better Way” (9:17), is certainly a very interesting album opener,
opening as it does with a little bass and some extraneous noises before
two spoken voices have a brief chat prior to a fuzz guitar picking out a
superb passage with drums and keyboards playing an integral part. When
Roye’s vocal enters, you are immediately transported back to classic
early Nektar. Around the halfway point, Roye also gets to “let rip” a
little with his electric guitar, and at 5:40 minutes, there is a total
change of tempo and main instrumentation with a very gentle acoustic
passage. The track then slowly builds again with that superb electric
guitar work and another of those mysterious spoken passages before the
track fades away. A very thoughtful opening track from the band,
designed, as an opening track should be, to grab and maintain the
attention of the listener.
Track
3, “Destiny” (5:16) is a very different sound, with an almost lush
acoustic guitar prevalent and similar styled keyboards to create a very
dream like state. There is a superb melodic hook that gets you, without
you being aware at the time. The simple harmonized backing vocals sound
great, but somehow this is not classic old-style Nektar.
The
title track, “Time Machine” (8:06), has an almost gentle feel at the
start, with great lyrics, and when the rest of the band join the backing
vocals, you feel that you have indeed used a time machine to go back to
earlier Nektar. There is an excellent feel to this track, with some
superb drumming from Roy Howden, one of the Nektar original members. The
track bowls along, from verse to rousing chorus until about the halfway
point when an amazing acoustic guitar passage leads majestically into
Roye’s superb electric guitar over the rest of the music. At around 5:20
minutes, there is some shining interplay that starts up between the
keyboards of Klaus Henatsch and the bass of Billy Sherwood, which
changes the feel of the track before a little more of Roye’s guitar
takes the track back to the early chorus again as the track exits.
I find the album, Time Machine,
a strange mix of the “classic Nektar (progressive and psychedelic), and
what I can only describe as melodic pop/rock. To explain what I mean,
the opening track, “A Better Way” is a superb Nektar “oldie style”
track, but then this is followed by “Set Me Free Amigo,” track 2, which
moves several light years away from classic Nektar. It certainly makes
for a very interesting album, but getting back to Roye Albrighton’s
quote about “best Nektar album ever,” I don’t think he is correct at
all. It is a very good album, which tries to tick all the boxes, but it
doesn’t quite manage it, and never quite attains the heights reached by
the two earlier re-mastered and rereleased albums. My impression is that
Nektar are trying out slightly different directions and have yet to
decide which one to pursue.
Nevertheless,
this is Nektar, a classic prog/psych band and a new album, which is
always to be looked for from this type of band by true “olde worlde”
proggers. They have definitely evolved through the years, and this album
seems to try to satisfy both old and new followers. Time Machine is a hugely enjoyable album and certainly one that merits several plays for the listener to make up their own mind.
4/5 STARS
Key Tracks: A Better Way, Destiny, Time Machine
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-MuzikReviews.com Staff
July 26, 2013
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