A SPOONFUL OF TIME

I have to admit that while I don't necessarily go out of my way to listen to cover albums, they certainly can be fun to listen to once in a while. This Nektar covers album is no exception. I think as long as you don't expect it to sound the same or even be as good as the original then it can be something you can return to without regret from time to time. This one features an all-star supporting cast that includes Billy Sherwood, Geoff Downes, Mark Kelly, Steve Howe, Edgar Froese, Ian Paice, Ginger Baker, Rod Argent, David Cross, Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz and several others.

Most of these covers are pretty faithful to the original but at the same time you probably won't mistake them for the version you are most familiar with either. Often there is an instrument that wasn't featured on the original such as sax on their cover of the Blind Faith classic "can't find my way home" or the violin on "Dream Weaver" originally recorded by 10CC. Sometimes the songs don't quite work such as the somewhat distracting keyboards in the background of "fly like an eagle" originally recorded of course by the Steve Miller Band. One particular pleasant surprise for me was the inclusion of "2000 light years from home" originally done by the Rolling Stones. I suppose that's one of my favorites on here mainly because I'm just such a big fan of the original.

Some of these songs, because of their spacey nature, could be logically expected to be covered by Nektar such as "Sirius,","Fly Like An Eagle,""2000 light years from home" and "Dream Weaver." "I'm Not In Love" and "Blinded By The Light" would probably not be considered much of a stretch by most people either. However, tracks such as "old man," "Riders On The Storm," and "Africa" would probably be the most unexpected cover songs on here. "The Spirit Of Radio" would maybe be somewhat unexpected also but mainly because Rush were a band who chronologically appeared after Nektar first came on the scene. The only cover on here I wasn't intimately familiar with was "Out Of The Blue" originally done by Roxy Music. Overall, this is a pretty good collection of cover tracks and while not a must have for everyone, it could easily be recommended to anyone who is a big Nektar fan or those who enjoy cover albums.