NEKTAR — A Tab In the Ocean (review)

Album · 1972 · Proto-Metal

4/5 · 2024-03-23
siLLy puPPy

Despite having settled in Germany as British ex-pats, the members of NEKTAR just couldn’t shake their British heritage and still looked to their roots for inspiration. While the band’s debut “Journey To The Centre Of The Eye” flirted with the nascent world of psychedelic freakery that Germany was developing in the form of Krautrock, the band ultimately moved past the Pink Floyd meets Amon Duul II aspects of the debut and delivered a second album that relied as much on influences from Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and The Who as it did on the psychedelic mood setting atmospheres of their new adopted homeland. A TAB IN THE OCEAN departed from the cosmic astral travel space rock of the debut and delivered a veritable blend of trippy Floydian marksmanship coupled with the more immediate deliveries of standard hard rock albeit fortified fervently with complex progressive rock excesses which has made this second album a true prog classic.

The album is primarily dominated by the legendary title track which swallowed up the entire A-side of the original vinyl release. Upon first exposure you will be fooled into believing the album is a continuation of the cosmic space ride that was the debut with a psychedelic splurge of electronic sounds that sound like NEKTAR has gone all Tangerine Dream on you but from the distance an organ melody creeps in then steals the show with the opening motif that delivers a brash mix of Genesis inspired organ runs courtesy of Allan Freeman, a more robust guitar playing style of Role Albrighton along with a bantering bass groove from Derek Moore. In addition Rowe Howden also adds his more upbeat percussive driving which when taken together signify a shift into a much heavier style of rock however NEKTAR retained enough of the space rock to keep the psychedelic trippiness alive and well. The near 17-minute title track undergoes many journeys into a style that makes you think of what The Who would sound like if they went full-on progressive.

As the title track morphs into seemingly different tracks nestled in its overarching theme of spiking the entire planet’s water systems with consciousness expanding LSD, the band emulates various British bands including Atomic Rooster, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Fuzzy Duck, Wishbone Ash and countless others. As far as German comparisons are concerned Frumpy, Murphy Blend or Birth Control probably come as close as it gets. The track remains bold, dynamic and goes through various motifs that remain melodic and modular and ultimately ends with the same melodic riffing session that started it all. The highlights of the album are by far the title track and the closing “King Of Twilight” with the middle section not quite reaching the same heights. The dual purpose “Desolation Valley / Waves” does its best to emulate the prog perfection of the title track but comes off as a bit mopier however the trippy transition between “Desolation” and “Waves” is notable for its ripping guitar heaviness and organ stab excesses. Likewise “Crying In The Dark” features a rather average blues rock style with organ excess and overall seems a little generic in comparison.

Despite the lull in the middle, the transition between the tracks is extremely inviting and the way “Crying In The Dark” morphs into “King Of Twilight” is utterly brilliant. The album ends beautifully with utterly gorgeous “King Of Twilight” which offers the catchiest pop hooks on the entire album and also showcases some of the most dynamic instrumental interplay. The track features some of the most original guitar and organ playing that play off of each other nicely. The vocal harmonies are also on par with the debut’s Moody Blues meets The Beatles vocal dynamics. The brilliant mix of styles that craft myriad variations in how the basic melody is played showcased NEKTAR’s true gift of crafting some of the most brilliant heavy prog of the era and then without any time for fussing around the track and album just simply ends the shouting of “FREE!”

Definitely one of the highlights of 70s prog although uneven in its entirely. The band’s transition into the hard rock arena was well executed and succeeded in keeping just enough of the space rock to make it unique. The faster tempos emphasized the dynamic skills of the musicians and all of the vocals are pitch perfect throughout the entire album’s run. While the middle part is not in the least bit unlistenable, the gorgeous perfection of the title track and closing “King Of Twilight” unfortunately steals the middle section’s oxygen supply. Best of all the album really went for the prog jugular with hairpin turns within musical motifs that offered crazy time signature workouts and all the pomp and awe of classic prog without missing a beat of the melodic flow. The band remained on a high point for the next few albums and although this album didn’t exactly find them international fame quite yet, the passing decades have perched as their crowning achievement. Personally this is just a step below the debut in my world due to the straggling middle section but it’s definitely a tour de force that deserves its status as prog classic.