THE PRODIGAL SON

Roye Albrighton's return to the NEKTAR helm after years of contentious absence (with management and record companies) and after a religious awakening notes a clear attempt to put his considerable talents toward the praise of God and extolling his religious beliefs. While Roye is not the first to go through such a conversion and to then use his artistic name to convey his religious message, he is one of the few that has "come back" after such a long layoff with such high quality music. Don't get me wrong: the Nektar albums of the Naughties are NOT the Nektar of old, but what we see here is how talented of a composer/songwriter AND guitarist Mr. Albrighton was. He was not a bad singer, either. If only to listen to the masterful rhythm guitar work, these albums are worth your time. Start with "Terminus / Oh My" here and then go to the amazing "Always" from 2004's Evolution and then "Over Krakatoa" from 2008's Book of Days. An under-appreciated prog treasure, RIP.