January 24, 2017 Playlist

"A Tab In The Ocean" by Nektar (1972)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Nektar "A Tab In The Ocean"  1972 (UK/Germany)
Coming across like a heavily dosed mix of the hairiest recordings by Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead, and with a lineup officially comprised of four musicians and two lighting technicians (for the groovy light show natch), Nektar is without a doubt a very psychedelic band. In fact they're almost too much, and were definitely a little too late - all of their records sound like they were released about three years past their sell-by date, meaning for example that this 1972 album sounds like a groundbreaking psychedelic rock record . . . from 1969. As Julian Cope noted in his Krautrocksampler tome, a big part of the charm of the German "krautrock" scene of the 1970's was this very "too-lateness", in that the fads and styles of the Anglosphere took a few years to reach the Continent: although the musicians in Nektar are all British, the group was based in Germany. A Tab In The Ocean was their second album and the first one to be released in the USA, where it barely made the charts, but the group' cult following began to snowball (those groovy light shows man!) The following year, they would score an unlikely hit with the concept album Remember The Future, which made it all the way to the Top 20 on the American charts. However, they failed to capitalize on their moment in the sun - by the time they signed a major label contract in 1977, the group's main songwriter Roye Albrighton had quit - only to rejoin in time for their last album in 1980, released on an obscure label and instantly forgotten (if you thought they were behind the times in the 1970's imagine Nektar trying to compete with "new wave" rock!) Most of the original members participated in reunion tours and even a few new albums in the 2000's, but Nektar seems to have come to an end with the 2016 death of Albrighton.
(N) = New Release
(R) = Listener Request
 
Artist Song Album Year Country
King CrimsonOne More Red NightmareRed1974UK
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David Bowie Life On Mars? (2016 remix)Legacy (N - greatest hits collection)1972 (2016 ISO/Columbia)UK
 
 
Pink Floyd Matilda Mother (extended version)
The Early Years 1967-1972 Cre/ation (N - 2 CD sampler)1967 (2016 Pink Floyd)UK
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The Strawberry Alarm ClockRainy Day Mushroom Pillow Incense & Peppermints1967USA
Elephants MemorySuper HeepSongs From Midnight Cowboy1970USA
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental BandTracy Had A Hard Day SundayVol. 21967USA
   
 
Nektar Desolation Boulevard / Waves A Tab In The Ocean
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK 		1972
 UK/Germany
NektarMarvellous Moses (R)Recycled 1976
UK/Germany
NektarA Tab In The OceanA Tab In The Ocean
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK 		1972
UK/Germany
NektarNelly The ElephantDown To Earth1974
UK/Germany
   
 
CanVernal EquinoxLanded1975
Germany
FaustWhy Don't You Eat CarrotsFaust1971
Germany
Squarewave Pages
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Tim Presley ER
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Feral Ohms The Glow (live)Live In San Francisco (N)2016 (Castle Face)USA
Iron Maiden (R)PowerslavePowerslave1984UK
Metallica Confusion
Hardwired...To Self Destruct (N)2016 (Blackened)USA
Los Enanitos Verdes Travelin' Band (Creedence Clearwater Revival)Quiero Creedence (N - various artists cover CCR)2016 (Concord)Argentina
 
  
Thee Oh Sees Contraption (live)Live In San Francisco (N)2016 (Castle Face)USA
      
   
   
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