...SOUNDS LIKE THIS

The approach Nektar took on their third album, 'Sounds Like This', was to go into the studio and lay it all down live, with only basic ideas pre-written. Lots of the album is filled with extended jams and improvs, many of the songs more basic in structure than anything found on the albums that surround it. This kind of thing isn't their strong point apparently, because 'Sounds Like This' is overlong, filled with superfluous material and some downright boring passages.

The material moves in a harder, more visceral vein (sometimes reminding of Uriah Heep and early Lucifer's Friend) than the spacier, proggier feel of their other '70s albums. It begins meekly with the lazy "Good Day" and the downright useless blues of "What Ya Gonna Do?" marring the listening experience early. But "New Day Dawning" is more like the Nektar we've come to expect. Thankfully, the middle of album provides some solid workouts, with both "Cast Your Fate" and "A Day In The Life Of A Preacher" showing this rawer, heavier Nektar married to the more cosmic, sublime Nektar we're used to. These two songs emerge as classics of the Nektar catalog, leaving the rest of the album behind in their wake. Final tracks "Wings" and "Odyssee" are enjoyable, if not amazing, though "Odyssee" dips into way too many hard rock jam cliches, again showing that excess improvisation is not a Nektar strong point. It's no wonder 'Sounds Like This' is rarely talked about (and rarely reviewed on this site) compared to other, much better works like 'Journey To The Centre Of The Eye', 'A Tab In The Ocean' and 'Remember The Future'. It feels a little underbaked, but was maybe a necessary side-step so they could re-charge for what they do best. It would've made a great single album, but unfortunately they choose to release way too much and ended up damaging the listenability of the album and their otherwise impressive run of '70s albums.