REMEMBER THE FUTURE

I see someone else who struggled with a rating on this one and another who struggled with calling Nektar a "second tier" band and I sympathize with both because I'm in the same boat. I feel the ratings for this one are on the high side and I just don't think Nektar is in the same league as some of their 70s prog peers.

Compositionally challenged compared to Yes and Genesis, well below Floyd in sheer beauty, and even a peg below Camel I'd have to say. This is not a bad album by any means, it has a wonderfully sci-fantasy 70s conceptual theme, it has some nice melodies and vocals, and it has a very warm organic sound. But to me it lacks real excitement and challenging changes and hooks. It flows in a relaxing manner and is very easy to enjoy as a rock album but it is quite one dimensional throughout both long pieces. There are some funky rock moments during the "Let it Grow" section near the end that really fall close to Spinal Tap territory for me. So for people who have a very deep 70s rock collection Nektar may be a very appropriate choice. For those with other musical interests just looking to have some classic period exposure I would say there are many albums to get to before this one.

So I'm in 3 star territory for Nektar, a pretty good album but certainly no masterpiece to my ears. Recommended to fans of easily assimilated early 70s fantasy rock with lots of laid back spacey electric guitar and pleasant choruses. Not recommended to prog fans looking for highly challenging or complex material.