NEKTAR — Journey to the Centre of the Eye (review)

NEKTAR — Journey to the Centre of the Eye album cover

Album · 1971 · Proto-Metal

4.5/5 · 2024-03-22
siLLy puPPy

NEKTAR was sort of the odd duck out in the early years of Germany’s Krautrock scene due to the fact that the band was a group of four Englishmen who met in Hamburg in 1969 and jumped on the space rock bandwagon. Formed in 1969, the original lineup featured guitarist and lead vocalist Roye Albrighton, keyboardist Allan "Taff" Freeman, bassist Derek "Mo" Moore, and drummer Ron Howden who together would become one of the most successful progressive rock bands to have emerged from Germany’s fertile weirdo music scene. The band was notorious for delivering incredible light shows and live performances. The first of the band’s greatest releases, it all began with this debut JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EYE which was inspired by the works of sci-fi guru H.P. Lovecraft.

Despite having formed in Germany in the midst of the emerging Krautrock scene, NEKTAR looked as much back to its homeland for its influences as it did to the lysergic musical expressions that were awash all around. This first album was an amazing continuous journey of spacey prog that excelled in both guitar and organ dominance. The album was a veritable cosmic travelogue in concept album form that narrated the journey of a rocket that leaves Earth on a course to Saturn in order to escape the inevitability of a nuclear war. While en route the ship is intercepted by extraterrestrial beings that are perplexed by humanity’s war driven civilization and invite the space travelers to witness their more peaceful world in another galaxy. After accepting the invitation to the ET’s home world, they undergo a a journey into the unknown only to return back to Earth in an enlightened state.

The musical developments correspond to the journey itself as the lyrical output delivers the concept. Some even consider the album a rock opera of sort. While the space rock lysergia of Pink Floyd’s “Sauceful of Secrets” was clearly a primary impetus for the trippy abstract qualities, NEKTAR fortified the escapist electronica and cosmic psychedelia with melodic songwriting and conventional rock influences reminiscent of The Moody Blues coupled with vocal harmonies that were right out of The Beatles’ playbook. The intricate mix of the surreal and the catchy ear worms delivered the perfect mix of prog, psychedelic rock and progressive electronic in perfect tandem. The album was only 42 minutes long but showcased the journey in a series of 13 tracks that more or less provided a continuous stream of consciousness. The variations in guitar styles, drumming patterns and bass grooves offered a near perfect space rock journey that remains one of the 70s best tripped out prog rock offerings.

The opening “Prelude” sets the stage with a series of freaky electronic sound effects while the spooky organ slinks in and cements itself as a primary player throughout the album’s run. The flirtation with the Floydian “Saucerful of Secrrets” detachment is quickly supplanted by a melodic space rock groove that commences with “Astronaut’s Nightmare.” The brooding organ and pulsating bass line together accompany passionate vocal performances delivered by all the band members and plenty of proggy hairpin turns to keep things from becoming too lethargic. While not quite to the level of prog rock experienced on the following “A Tab In The Ocean,” JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EYE certainly has its moments of prog excesses but keeps things restrained enough so the cosmic space rock flow isn’t breeched. The top notch interplay of the fluky guitar, drum and organ parts adds a whole level of excitability to the melodic processions. The intermission track “War Oversight” embarks on a cosmic journey into the avant-garde sounding more like a 20th century classical composer.

The compositions themselves are extremely well thought out with a clever use of dynamics, tempos and reverberation as an effective tool. Extended jamming emerges in the middle of the tracks which eke out maximum potential and was also a very effective way of capturing the spirit of a well crafted space rock sound. This would be the closest NEKTAR ever came to sounding like a true Krautrock band and although some may have thrown the band into the mix due to its connection to the German prog scene, NEKTAR was really a prog space rock band that happened to coincide with bands like A.R. & Machines, Faust, Frumpy and Lucifer’s Friend. While usually overlooked in favor of the band’s following albums that were more conventional in their approach to prog, this early space rock journey debut album has been my favorite NEKTAR album for quite some time and although not absolutely perfect with a few hiccoughs here and there, the album is one of those magical prog journeys that stands on its own even outside of the band’s own canon.

As a note for MMA, this is space rock. I just will not punish an album in ratings that really shouldn't be included on the site. No real metal here.