SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE LONDON ROUNDHOUSE

A no nonsense groovy tripped out live performance from Nektar during their heyday in the early seventies. Far from a command performance, but what makes this live recording remarkable are it`s flaws such as Albrighton`s raw in-your-face vocals which are nothing to write home about but work here with Nektar`s brand of head banging art-rock. The echo that is semmingly created from the acoustics in the venue also add to the very relaxed, loose and intimate mood which hangs in the air throughout the whole disc. Some of the longer tracks such as A Day In The Life Of A Preacher start to drag at times but Roye Allbrighton manages to pick up the groove with intense psychedelic and sometimes spacey guitar lines with some jazzy licks thrown in on Odyssey which also contains the compulsory drum solo and noise freakout of the day. One nice thing about this live recording is the omnipresence of the Hammond Organ which doesn`t get too " Emersonistic " and creates a constant mellow backdrop even during Albrighton`s more fiery moments providing a sort of relaxing contrast ocassionally soloing and providing some spacey effects.

Apart from a few subdued sections of Remember The Future, the instrumental Summer Breeze and Cast Your Fate, Live At The Roundhouse is an otherwise jamming live album, with spontanaeity throughout, particularily on 1-2-3-4 and the bluesy encore track Woman Trouble. Unfortunately Nektar was a band that was frequently compared to their contemporaries but this excellent document of Nektar at the top of their game in `73 has a lot more "move to it" than Deep Purple Purple or Uriah Heep had in their live acts in the early 70s and can even sound distantly like Grand Funk Railroad !

Previously released in `74 as a single vinyl record now extended to over 100 minutes, Sunday Night At The London Roundhouse is a highly recommended for those who want a less crebral dose of 70s psychedelic art`n roll. Play loud and trip out.