DOWN TO EARTH

A year after the stellar 'Remeber the Future', Nektar made use of experiences and sensations drawn from the circus world and its characters to conceive and release 'Down to Earth', their fifth album (1974). A proposal that moves away from the spatial narratives and extensive instrumentation so characteristic of the band in exchange for more ephemeral and earthly developments, and which is made up of pieces that, although they share a conceptually common theme, carry with them their own particular stories.

Beyond the introductory and digestible sixties rock of 'Astral Man', the album moves between gentle melodies like the sensitive 'Early Morning Clown' and its acoustic similarities to the song 'And You And I' (Yes), or the beautiful and crystalline 'Little Boy', and pieces complemented by arrangements adapted to the circus show, such as the trumpets, saxophones and trombones preceded by the introductions of Bob Calvert (late ex-singer of Hawkwind), occasional master of ceremonies, in the persistent half-time of 'Nelly the Elephant' or in the active 'Fidgety Queen', adorned with the brief and effective guitar slides of Roye Albrighton.

In the last section, and without departing too much from the general atmosphere of the album, the bubbly 'Oh Willy' picks up the pace (brief jazz interlude included) with a very active Ron Howden on percussion accompanied by the intense bass of Derek Moore, and the rousing 'Show Me the Way' with the rhythmic cadence that Allan Freeman's keyboards and Albrighton's riffs impose and a beautiful vocal counterpoint in between, precede 'Finale', the instrumental appendix taken from 'Nelly the Elephant' that brings the show to a close.

Down to Earth", which reached number 32 on the US Billboard 200, is a few steps below the contemporary "A Tab in the Ocean" and "Remember the Future", perhaps because of the lightness of its development at times, but it is a remarkable attempt by Nektar not to repeat themselves and to continue experimenting with different sonic structures, and that gives it a special appeal.

3/3.5 stars