REMEMBER THE FUTURE

I'm not sure if I like this or Recycled better. Either way they are the only two Nektar albums that grabbed my attention. This band likes to change their sound every album. Remember The Future sounds like a mix of Yes and Pink Floyd, with a hint of Beatles and Hendrix. It's great 70s rock but it's mediocre prog. I've never heard another two-song album where one song was completely superior to the other one in everyway. That's the situation here as Part 2 just destroys Part 1.

The members of Nektar were Brits who moved to Germany, but their music never sounded like Krautrock. In many ways they sound 'behind the times'. The reliance on wah-wah and Hammond for example. The latter is the only keyboard on here unless I missed some piano or something. This was recorded in 1973 but could have easily been from 1970-71. It's really well done but it's nothing to text home about. Lots of good melodies and riffs.

The music rawks, it can be funky, it can get spacey. There is some nice vocal harmonies on Part 2. I like how the album sounds like what it is: little minisongs all sequed together. You know they are different sections but they are linked in such a way that you would not want to listen to them individually. The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts...that sort of thing.

If Remember The Future Part 2 was on one side of an album, and the best songs from Recycled were on the other side...that would be a 5 star album. These guys are very inconsistent. I don't know if they have any compilations or not but all most people would need from these guys would fit on one 80 minute CD. Part 2=4.5 stars. Part 1=2 stars. A good album but there are many better. 3 stars.