You Are in Orbit! Space-Rock Appreciation Thread!

The album opens appropriately enough with "Prelude". This brief 1-minute prelude features spooky, swirling sound effects and mysterious noises to put you in the mood for some classic Space Rock. We're in Hawkwind territory here, so hold on tight and prepare for an ""Astronaut's Nightmare". Strangely, the opening to this song reminds one of a Beatles' number, but that first impression doesn't last for long. This is pretty impressive stuff with the keyboard player going hell for leather on the Hammond organ and with the singer sounding like he's on some far-out psychedelic acid trip. The guitarist is no slouch either as he fires off some stunning guitar leads, not to mention the drummer, who's pounding away on his kit in true Space Rock tradition. It's freaky, it's spacey, it's mysterious, but most important of all, this is great music. Prepare to be amazed! If you can't "Countenance" that, then how about this, because this is Track 3: "Countenance". The pace is now slowed down somewhat with some very pleasant and laid back organ playing. Don't be fooled though, because that was just the opening and there's a wild psychedelic guitarist on the loose and he's here to show you what he's made of with some good solid riffing. The song ascends triumphantly into a tremendously uplifting crescendo of sound to take you into Space Rock heaven. We now arrive at "The Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun" which is presumably about the nine planets of the solar system, although there's nothing lifeless about the Earth, or indeed this instrumental rip-roaring organ-driven number. Onwards now at Warp Factor 5 to Track No. 5 "Warp Oversight". There are lots of spacey plinky-plonky noises to be heard in this eerie number with a Hawkwind-style spacey rhythm phasing in and out of the mix. It's all very atmospheric and mysterious, but no less than you'd expect from a classic Space Rock album. We're now almost halfway through our journey as "The Dream Nebula I" closes out Side One. Just lie back and enjoy because this is beautiful music, and there's more to come too as "The Dream Nebula II" continues on the opening of Side Two of the album. "It's All in the Mind" is up next, although it's not all in the mind that this is a great song and a superb album overall. And now onto "Burn Out My Eyes", the longest track on the album, running at nearly 8 minutes long. Again, this is another song that's designed to carry you into orbit on a rocket- propelled blast of Hammond organ, wild guitar riffs and a powerful singer soaring on a wave of emotion. Onwards now to "Void of Vision", a manic free-for-all as the Hammond organist takes off on a flight of fancy, throwing caution to the wind. Track 11 "Pupil of the Eye" gallops along at impressive speed, firing on all cylinders with a pounding rhythm and the vocalist giving it his all and more besides, in the style of David Byron of Uriah Heep. "Look Inside Yourself" now for the penultimate song on the album with our fantastic journey nearly at an end. It's a short 1-minute barnstormer of a song which takes us into "Death of the Mind" to close out the album. The grand finale to the album is a bombastic and grandiose song full of triumphal pomp and ceremony to conclude this superb album in fine style. The journey ends, but this was just the beginning for Nektar!

This marvellous album of classic Space Rock has really stood the test of time and it's sure to delight fans of Hawkwind. The album sounds as fresh today nearly 50 years on, as it did at the time of its release when Space Rock was just taking off, way back in 1971. "Journey to the Centre of the Eye" deserves a treasured place in any Prog-Rock/Space Rock music lover's collection. With a debut album as impressive as this, Nektar's later albums have got to be well-worth a listen too.

Getting the album underway, we're on the move with "The Traveller", opening to the sound of a gentle acoustic guitar and floating flute with a percussionist lightly tapping away on the bongos. The exotic music conjures up images of some faraway land in the mystical east. Wait a minute though - what's this!? Leaping out of nowhere like a sleeping samurai comes a fuzzy electric guitarist with a soaring spacey solo. This is Psychedelic/Space Rock like you've never heard it played before. This is no gentle Japanese tea ceremony in the style of Marlon Brando's "Teahouse of the August Moon". No, this is a soaring sonic nirvana of fuzzy acid guitar, designed to exhilarate and elevate the mind and body into a state of euphoria - and you don't even need any psychedelic substances to get high. All you need is this emotionally elevating music. Floating gently back down to Earth now, comes the Blues-Rock number "A Prenormal Day at Brighton". This song is no laid-back "Bell-Bottom Blues" though. No, this is a spirited, toe-tapping Blues-Rock number with attitude, which is all the more surprising considering Jade Warrior didn't include a drummer in their first line-up. Instead, we have a percussionist pounding away on whatever he can lay his hands on with the fuzzy psychedelic guitarist taking us right back to those halcyon days gone by when hippy guys and gals wore flowers in their hair. We're in deepest darkest Africa for the next song "Masai Morning". It's all very ethnic in the opening with the sound of a floating flute and what sounds like an African tribesman pounding away on the percussion. It sounds like the kind of tribal music you might hear on a wild African safari, or if your budget doesn't quite stretch that far, watching old repeats of "Daktari". First impressions aren't always right though, because the wild guitarist is just waiting in the wings to give us another dynamic burst of some fuzzy guitar riffing. This is energetic ethnic music that's best listened to on a verandah with a glass of jungle juice in your hand as you watch herds of wildebeest galloping across the savannah. Failing that, you could just lie back at night with the lights off and dream of being on safari amid the breath-taking scenery of Kenya, ala Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) in "Out of Africa". Floating into view now comes "Windweaver", a beautifully laid-back mellow groove with some super soar-away guitar and flute soloing. This is gorgeous music that floats along like a cool gentle breeze. Just lie back and let "Windweaver" weave it's magical spell on you. The music segues nicely into "Dragonfly Day" to close out Side One. It's the longest song on the album at nearly eight minutes long. This is another cool and gentle groove with the ethnic sound of the tom-toms, acoustic guitar and feathery flute carrying us away to some warm and distant far-eastern land. It's psychedelic transcendental music to lay back and meditate to in a passionate "Purple Haze" of sound. The music is very much in the style of that other well-known psychedelic and spiritual band, Quintessence. This music is moody and magnificent!

Moving swiftly along through Side Two now, so as not to get hopelessly bogged down in a long review comes "Petunia", a back-to-basics raw Blues-Rock number, reminding us that this is a British Rock album we're listening to here and not some multi-ethnic tribe of musicians from Asia and Africa. Next on the line is "Telephone Girl", an upbeat and uplifting wild psychedelic guitar groove with the percussionist passionately pounding away on the bongo drums. This is a tribal psychedelic revival that's foot-stompingly good. Next up is the bizarrely-titled "Psychiatric Sergeant", a fluty number which is very reminiscent of Jethro Tull. The flautist is in full-flight on this energetic song, which immediately conjures up an image of Ian Anderson standing on one leg in typical merry minstrel fashion. Next, we're taking a "Slow Ride", a light and delicate acoustic guitar and fluty instrumental melody. This leads us gently into the closing number and the highlight of the album, "Sundial Song". This song is a veritable potpourri of exotic music, opening with a flawless flute and gentle percussion, followed by an aggressive samurai thrust of heavy guitar riffing, and then effortlessly transposing back into a marvellous mellifluous floating wave of sound for the magnificent conclusion.

This stunning debut album from Jade Warrior has it all! It's a spicy multi-ethnic cocktail of exotic instrumentation that's a little bit off the beaten track. If you're in the mood to spice up your life with some exotic and experimental non-western music that's not on the usual tourist trail, then take a psychedelic trip back in time with this superb album of musical exploration. This is a timeless album of intoxicating melodic prog that improves with age, just like a fine vintage wine.