JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EYE

PINK FLOYD went from "Piper at the Gates" to "Ummagumma" and ultimately "Meddle", but there were some at the start of the new decade who felt that they left some loose ends along the way. Enter NEKTAR to keep the late-60s space rock dream alive and put their own minimalistic style into it.

There are plenty of harder rocking moments, ranging from the CREAM-like sections in "Astronauts Nightmares" to the funky, early- DEEP PURPLE sound of organ and wah guitar jamming in "Pupil of the Eye". There are plenty 'weird sounds' experiments from the FLOYDian "Prelude" to the freak-out sounds of "Warp Oversight", which features spacey burbles and abortive crescendos, a tribal rhythm segement, and some heartbeat bass drum (well before "Dark Side"). There are also several moody, slightly spooky vocal sections in songs like "Look Inside Yourself" and "The Dream Nebula" (why is the latter inexplicably split into two parts, the only difference being the fade-in on the 2nd part?). One of the stronger compositions is "Burn Out My Eyes" which is quite heavy, with a slower, more desperate feel that works best for them among these songs.

There is a rhythmic and melodic simplicity on this album which links it more closely to 'Krautrock' and hard rock roots; the conceptual album-length narrative and sonic experiments, however, place it definitely in the proto-prog camp. If you like the FLOYD of "Interstellar Overdrive" or "Saucerful of Secrets", this is worth checking out- but be warned, it doesn't have quite as much textural depth. The story rarely draws me into the music, and the instrumental performances never really impress me, but it is a good snapshot of a how psychedelic hard rock at the time was poised on the brink of progressive bliss.