Nektar- Journey to the Center of the Eye (1971)

Track Listing:
1. Prelude 1:27
2. Astronauts nightmare 6:22
3. Countenance 3:30
4. The nine lifeless daughters of the sun 2:41
5. Warp oversight 4:28
6. The dream nebula 2:14
7. The dream nebula part II 2:25
8. It's all in the mind 3:22
9. Burn out my eyes 7:48
10. Void of vision 2:01
11. Pupil of the eye 2:46
12. Look inside yourself 0:53
13. Death of the mind 2:52
Total Time: 42:49

Line-up:
-Roye Albrighton / guitars, vocals
-Mick Brockett / liquid lights
-Allan "Taff" Freeman / Mellotron, pianos, organ, vocals
-Ron Howden / drums, percussion
-Derek "Mo" Moore / Mellotron, bass vocals
-Keith Walters / static slides

AllMusic Review by Mike DeGagne:
Nektar's debut album became one of their finest releases, saturated with abstract psychedelia and a wonderful science-fiction motif that is magnified through the rigorous but dazzling Mellotron of Allan Freeman and Roye Albrighton's nomadic guitar playing. Throughout Journey's 13 cuts, Nektar introduced their own sort of instrumental surrealism that radiated from both the vocals and from the intermingling of the haphazard drum and string work. With the synthesizer churning and boiling in front of Howden's percussive attack and Mick Brockett's "liquid lights," tracks like "Astronaut's Nightmare," "It's All in the Mind," and both "Dream Nebula" cuts teeter back and forth from mind-numbing, laid-back melodies to excitable, open-ended excursions of fantastical progressive rock. Just as Hawkwind was exploring the depths of outer space with their progressive tendencies on most of their albums, Journey to the Centre of the Eye musically probed the inner universe of the mind and body with its very own conceptual field trip. "Burn Out My Eyes" and "Warp Oversight" are let loose with buzz-saw vocals and hazy, undefined guitar chords which converge and fade into background rhythms, while the 54 seconds of "Look Inside Yourself" is a short, illusory voyage that ends too soon. Nektar's freewheeling sound is best felt on Journey and on their next three releases, as by the end of the decade, their progressive moods and ambient-like suites started to get harder and take on more of a mainstream feel.


Review:
Folks unfamiliar with the band Nektar think they are from Germany. What actually transpired was the quartet of Englishmen met in Germany in 1969 and formed the band. Ron Howden (drums, percussion), Derek "Mo" Moore (bass, vocals), Alan "Taff" Freeman (keyboards, vocals) and Roye Albrighton (guitar, lead vocals) would become huge in Germany and nearly broke big the in the U.S.

Eclectic Discs/Dream Nebula Recordings have reissued the four critically acclaimed albums that defined the band's career. "A Tab In The Ocean", "Journey To The Center Of The Eye", "Remember The Future" and "Recycled" are lovingly remastered with detailed liner notes for former fans and the newly indoctrinated to enjoy. Their well- known masterpiece "Remember The Future" was appropriately chosen for the SACD format as well as "Journey To The Center Of The Eye".

Their sound was a progressive-psychedelic mixture of rock that was far ahead of its time. For this listener this was a new wonderful listening experience. Prior to receiving these CDs, I had not heard any Nektar music besides a video of "Remember The Future" on a DVD compilation. I can understand now what all the talk has been about the band reforming and going on tour.

Roye Albrighton was the driving force of this band. His skilled guitar playing set the table for his fellow band mates. Each recording was outstanding and stands as a testament to their importance to the history of prog-rock music. What made this so interesting was how the label broke up each album into two parts respectively, the original recordings versus the newly remastered versions. You are now able to hear succinct differences between the two formats for the first time. Both versions are excellent and it was a treat to get the best of both worlds.

Any prog-rock listener will most certainly enjoy taking in this musical paradise in more than once, I listened to each CD four times myself and I know there will be many more spins of each CD down the road. I look forward to catching Nektar 2004 on the road this year to relive all of these great songs in a live setting. I never would have decided to see them in concert if it wasn't for this remastered series.

My opinion: I love this psychedelic masterpiece which combines so many elements in such a perfect way. There are psychy and krauty as well as proggy elements in the songs. To me their best album. My favourite song on this album is "Void of Vision". Ah I just love this psychy spaced out vibes and music.


Covers Included




Two other Nektar albums have been posted by HellikXs
In Wav+cue and MP3 formats

Nektar - The Prodigal Son (2001)
Nektar - Evolution (2004)
And I've added some additional mirrors for Evolution in FLAC and MP3 (ripped by myself)