Nektar

[clos2thedge]

I was surprised when I looked through this thread of progressive rock bands and did not see Nektar. I'll be honest with you, when I first heard them, I was almost as excited as the first time I heard Yes. They were formed about the same time time as Yes, 1969, and I vividly remember first time I heard Remember The Future...wow. I'm sure most of the people in here are familiar with Nektar as well, and I consider them one of the best prog bands ever. They are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of their seminal album RTF.

[Gilly Goodness]

Cheers. Have heard the name, not the music. Have discovered so much juicy prog over the last year or 2.
Canterbury scene, Magenta, Marillion, Big Big Train, Cyan, so. Will check out 😀

[clos2thedge]

Here's another one I haven't seen here that I hope you enjoy as much as I do.... Triumvirat

[Roundabob]

I enjoyed A Tab in the Ocean and Magic is a Child. Nektar was a great band. They never made it big in the U.S., but I was a fan. The deserved more attention.

[Gilly Goodness]

RTF. WTF?

Funky, tight, muscular, folky, psychadelic.
Soarin' harmonies. Singer is OK. On the level of quality of a lot of the Canterbury scene. OK. Not amazin'.

Who was amazin'? Jon Anderson. Al Stewart. Annie Haslam. Ian Anderson. For example.

Reminds me a bit of Camel.

But I like how passages flow into eachother. Lead guitarist doesn't noodle on. Very rhythmic. Like early Clannad as well. Folky. Fast.

So far so good.

[clos2thedge]

Gilly Goodness:
I'm assuming you're responding after listening to RTF. I appreciate that you listened to them, I really do. That's the thing I love about music, everyone likes something but nobody likes everything. In regards to Camel, I strived to get what everyone was excited about, because in a lot of prog rock polls, Camel's album Mirage is rated Home !! I've listened to it several times, and other than Lady Fantasy, I don't know what the hype was about. But, I guess that's why they make 31 flavors of ice cream. I think part of the reason I like Nektar so much is the lyrics actually tell a story ( I'm talking about RTF) that I can follow. I'm a die hard Yes fan, but for f"""s sake, even I don't know what the hell the lyrics are about, do you?? Try Nektar's follow up album Down To Earth. It's a concept album as well, but about a circus, and it's not hard to follow.

I also mentioned Triumvirat. Wow, another great progressive band from germany with a phenomenal keyboard player, Jurgen Fritz. My first listen was their album Illusions On A Double Dimple, and I was hooked. I believe their next album, Spartacus, got a little more play, and it tells the tale of, well, Spartacus. The lyrics are wonderful, and the music is inspiring. A true "progressive" album.

[clos2thedge]

I've tried to edit this post because after I mention Camel's album Mirage, it's supposed to say it's rated #1, not home. For some reason it won't change that.

[Gilly Goodness]

When you do a hashtag you have to leave a space before the number otherwise you get these

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Don't know why. Maybe John Vehadija can fix it.

# newalbumtobecalledhighercentury

[Susanne]

It's quite a while since I listened to Nektar and Triumvirate. I know I have some songs somewhere. Must dig them out! This thread is a very useful reminder. It would be good to revisit.

I really like a lot of Camel songs, and have several CDs. But, although I have it (and do listen), Mirage is not one of my favourites. If Yes wasn't my favourite band, Camel might come close to being it! There's something serene, enticing, but also exciting about their music. At least, the earlier music. (Often with a lavender to purpley feel to it.)