Search - Nektar :: Man in the Moon

Must have for Nektar fans

R.J.N. | Illinois United States | 08/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Any fan of Nektar must get this CD, "Man in the Moon" was released around 1980, but only in Europe, it featured the return of Roye Albrighton, who had left the band about 3 years earlier, Taff Freeman was also on this record but the original bass player (Mo Moore) and drummer(Ron Howden) were not. "Man" was more of a collection of songs, kind of like "Down to Earth" rather than the concept type album that Nektar fans had grown used to. It definately has a real Nektar feel to it on most of the songs, this is in my opinion because of Albrighton who was the main man in the original lineup, I am not saying that this is a better album than "Magic is a Child" which was the album that Nektar put out without Albrighton, and a very good collection of songs in it's own right, but this just feels more like Nektar to me, the title song is truly one of the best Nektar songs ever, it is a must hear, a true powerhouse song where Albrighton's great singing voice just shines, all in all is it their best? No way. Is it essential for a Nektar fan to have in his or hers collections? Absolutely. It has been remastered with one or two bonus songs added on. Get this CD."

Away from the progressive days but it's still Nektar

11/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although this album is a far cry from the complex, progressive jams that Nektar is best known for, it isn't a huge leap from their previous effort, Magic is A Child. A big leap maybe, but not a huge one. By progressive rock standards, no, it isn't a four-star progressive rock album, but this isn't a progressive rock album. Nektar didn't completely abandon their progressive roots though, there are traces of progressive infuences on this album.
While upon first listen this album seems like it is from a whole different band, Albrighton's vocals and guitars keep reminding the listener that this is indeed Nektar.Too Young To Die and the reprise of sorts, Impossible Years are excellent, solid rock tunes, with catchy hooks and a nice feel to them.
Things get even better on Torraine, as the progressive tendencies of the band come out. By now it is obvious that this is more than just a pop album. This music is well-constructed and thoughtful.
Can't Stop You Now has an excellent, spacey middle section that highlights Albrighton's vocals. Very enjoyable.
This album isn't the same as their earlier, progressive epics, but there is one thing that this album has that all Nektar albums seem to have. An energy. A driving force. And of course, excellent guitar work as usual. I found this to be a welcome addition to my collection of Nektar albums.My favorite Nektar is the earlier, progressive albums, but I'm a big fan of the Magic Is A Child album (the album where they switched to shorter, so-called "pop" tunes), that album is great. This album equals it at many times, without a doubt. Enough times that I could understand how somebody might enjoy this one more, although I personally still prefer Magic Is A Child. If you are a Nektar fan, don't feel like buying this album is a risk, it's a solid release. The band is tight and the production is good. It's not an epic, progressive masterpiece, but they didn't lose their edge at all on this one."

Nektar - The Long Lost Album

Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 10/30/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To many Nektar fans this was the band's great long lost album. It was only originally released in Germany and many US fans of the band did not even know it existed. The album was reissued in 2002 and finally made available for wider distribution. Major lineup changes were in store for this one. Roye Albrighton was back in the fold and Dave Nelson was gone. The only other original member was keys man Taff Freeman. Added to the lineup were bass player extraordinaire Carmine Rojas (David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Joe Bonamassa, many others) and drummer David Prater. The album has once again become rather difficult to find and is currently selling on Amazon for more than $30. So is it any good? Personally I think this was Nektar's weakest album up to this point. The band seemed to be going for more of an arena rock style not dissimilar to other popular bands at the time like Styx or Journey. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and Nektar pull it all off fairly well, but overall I just don't think this album stacks up to their earlier work. Although Carmine Rojas is not listed as writer of any of the material it sure sounds like he had some influence here. The best song on the disc is the title track which is as good as anything the band has done. The rest of the album contains quite a few ballads and straight ahead rockers that have more to do with AOR than progressive rock. This is not a bad album and worth owning for the completeist, but I don't think it is worth the price people are getting for it these days."