REMEMBER THE FUTURE

'Remember The Future' is the creative peak of a band doomed always to be considered as a lesser god in the pantheon of seventies prog rock. As such, many of you have the chance to hear something new from that period. It's a chance you should take.

NEKTAR don't do any one thing outstandingly well. Instead, they do everything with thorough competence and professionalism. This album is one track of two parts driven by guitar and vocals, and is a combination of gentle psychedelica and blues.

The song itself is well constructed, with no part outstaying its welcome. The album begins with some rather dated wah-wah guitar, but it's a signal you're firmly in psychedelic territory. The first three 'parts' are all melodic, based on the massed vocals of four of the five members, which are a significant improvement over previous albums. The group strikes an excellent balance between vocals and instruments. Then, after 12:50 minutes, comes the most obviously Germanic part of the album, a repetitive guitar motif that sounds like something TANGERINE DREAM would go on to develop, reminding me a great deal of tracks like 'Magical Meridian' from TD's 'Cyclone'. This is the album's 'freak-out' section. Following this, the first side closes rather abruptly.

Side two is more of the same, but with more memorable tunes. Two promo singles were culled from the album and appear on later versions of the CD, which indicates how successfully the band was able to integrate melodic sounds into this ambitious piece. There's some excellent musicianship in the 'Tomorrow Never Comes' part, eight minutes into Side two. There's a very good (if somewhat disconnected) guitar solo at the 12:30 mark, and the album finishes with the well-constructed 'Let It Grow'.

Overall the music does sound dated, but I'm guessing that's what many reading this review want: something to take them back to the seventies. This does exactly that, gently and with real skill, though with no outstanding moments. It beguiles rather than thrills the listener. This is an album to savour repeatedly.