WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT LATER

Nucleus' second album has been hailed by many as a masterpiece of British jazz-rock and I can only fully concur! The parameters were set with the 1970 debut Elastic Rock and the same crew kicks it up a notch on 'We'll Talk About it Later', released the same year. Well, it's time to talk about it NOW! What an incredible and timeless piece of music this is! Tighter than a Republican Tax legislator, the flow of tidy compositions wreak impossible pleasure to the unaware audiophile, dense tapestries of brassy sound from the sax, oboe and trumpet, raucous guitar friction from axe God Chris Spedding and a taut rhythm section that steers the music brazenly forward. Even after 40 years, the material resonates with shimmering grace and elegance. Many ensuing bands listened fixedly and were duly inspired by the brilliant tunes laid down on this vital recording.

Blastoff with a rollicking Karl Jenkins composition 'Song for the Bearded Lady' which would be remodeled on the 1974 Bundles album as 'Hazard Profile 1', a pervasive riff that seeks to hypnotize and make comfortably numb, featuring some Ian Carr trumpet magic, Spedding's sexy guitar moans and some propulsive drumming from John Marshall, perhaps the most underrated drummer in prog. Thrill seekers will get their jollies here.

For those who worship the bass guitar altar, 'Sun Child' provides a Jeff Clyne platform to rumble front and center, seduced by some scintillating collective brass work, funky wah- wah guitar that defies logic and possessed drumming. Sounds a lot like Roxy Music's 'the Bogus Man' but without the synthesized Eno gloss!

'Lullaby for a Lonely Child' coils out like a jazz reprise of ELP's 'Take a Pebble', a gently, serene and percussive heavy piece that shudders and trembles with suave enchantment, giving lieu to some more Carr lung work.

The monumental title track is a protracted bluesy jam that launches Spedding's guitar into deeper experimental expanses, letting all the soloists exploit their talent and inner muse to the hilt, thus creating an audio cacophony of utter urgency, something Led Zeppelin would do on 'Dazed and Confused', for example.

The colossal 'Oasis' reveals in the course of its near 10 minutes the band's ability to seduce with atmosphere and not just chops, a sonic sanctuary where Brian Smith's sulfuric saxes, Jenkins' opulent oboe and Carr's trumpet and flugelhorn, all coalesce into a mesmeric refuge of sound . This is assuredly the jazziest piece yet, with a more obvious Miles Davis inspiration. The Clyne/Marshall duo deal out some fine work, thus cementing the loosey-goosey improv into relaxed heights of accomplishment.

'Ballad of Joe Pimp' offers vocals that rekindle thoughts of early King Crimson and to a certain extent some of Zappa's oblique fixings or even a lighter version of Black Sabbath (the riff). Just tremendously creative stuff!

'Easter 1916' is a jazz-rock adaptation of Yeats poem of the Irish uprising that ultimately led to some nasty executions. Musically, the powerful political emotions are delivered by some furious sax explosions and hyper polyrhythmic drumming from John Marshall who proves his mettle without a pause of any kind (his wrists must be sore as he takes this one home!). The mood is frenetic, raging, brittle and desperate. Unreal!

A masterpiece and timeless monument of contemporary rock music.

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