NUCLEUS

Recorded in December of 1970, this was Ian Carr's relatively-new "jazz-rock fusion" project's third album release (though many cite Chris Spedding's Ian-Carr-less album from 1970, Songs Without Words as another Nucleus album, which would make Solar Plexus the band's fourth release). Here we see the final appearance on Nucleus/Ian Carr albums of Karl Jenkins, Chris Spedding, Jeff Clyne, and drummer John Marshall while at the same time we see the significant contributions of a number of hired guests to thicken and give variety to Ian's band's sound.

1. Elements I & II (2:12) full-on experimentation with the latest advances/offerings from the world of electronics: here a VCS3 synthesizer, courtesy of Keith Winter, joined by bowed double bass, flanged electric guitar notes, and metallic percussion noises. Interesting and, actually, rather structured! (4.5/5)

2. Changing Times (4:44) so many elements here that refer to other songs, other artists--like HERB ALPERT, OLATUNDE BABATUNJI, HUGH MASAKELA, BURT BACHARACH, and so many others An absolutely brilliant blend of so many styles and sounds: like a brief history of Jazz-Rock music! I'm glad! If anyone in the early Fusion world had a grip on where Jazz-Rock Fusion was coming from and the many, many arms and tentacles it could reach into, it was Ian Carr. A complete visionary! (9/10)

3. Bedrock Deadlock (6:52) opens sounding like a song from mediæval church music with oboe and bowed double bass dancing around one another in a kind of pre-tango pairs dance. Quite lovely--and brilliant! At 1:49, then, the classical music intro ends, there is a pause, and then a full band jumps into a weird motif that forces enters the listener to enter into a mish-mash of early-Beatles psychedelia. At 3:48 a horn section of saxes starts up a new expression of the main melodies--which is then countered by Ian Carr's own competing melody presentation from a horn section that he leads. Mix into the weave Chris Spedding and Jeff Clyne's own competing thread and we have a really cool, really beautiful weave of doubled up melodies--all supported by the rhythm play of John Marshall's drums paired up with Chris Karan's conga play. Cool mathematical exercise! (9.5/10)

4. Spirit Level (9:20) opening with another anachronistic weave of multiple "old" instruments that lasts about 60 seconds before turning into a little sprite-like dance between guests Tony Roberts' bass clarinet and Ron Matthewson's bass--which goes on for about two and a half minutes while late-night jazz brushed drums eventually join in as well as harmonically-arranged horn section. The bass clarinet and bass continue on well into the sixth minute before the band slides into a slightly more substantial jazz motif with sticks being used on the drum kit and Ian stepping up into the lead position while Chris Spedding, Ron Matthewson, Chris Karan, and the other horn players all fall into interestingly creative support roles. Another interesting song that sounds and feels like a journey through several time periods and styles. (18/20)

5. Torso (6:12) a song that feels somewhat rooted in the popular "beach rock" that became popular in the 1960s. There is also a Spanish hue to the song--quite like the Animals version of the classic tune, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (and the later version by Santa Esmeralda) as well as The Mamas And The Papas' chords from "California Dreamin'" and future [June of 1971] hit, "One Fine Morning" by Canadian band Skylark. A real rousing, rollicking, and engaging tune that makes you want to get up and move! (9.5/10)

6. Snakehips Dream (15:16) a song that starts out as if borrowing an old James Brown R&B motif to ge t started: bass, drums, two rhythm guitar tracks (on the left: more rhythm-oriented with lots of strumming of fast-changing chords; on the right with more jazz sounds and intonations. I'm guessing that Eumir Deodato and his guitarist John Tropea had this in mind when playing/recording for "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)"). Weird to just be noticing how there are virtually no keyboards on this album! The first four minutes of this are just as described: all R&B exploration of a theme, but then horns enter and start to fill some spaces and accent others until Brian Smith branches off into the sunlight to posit a smooth tenor sax solo over the hep R&B jam. At the 8:00 mark two different horn groups break off to perform a call-and-response passage that serves as a bridge to Ian's turn to solo--this time on a flugelhorn. Meanwhile, Chris Spedding's two guitar tracks continue to improvise, exploring and entertaining just beneath the lead and rhythm sections. (27/30) Total Time: 44:36

As suggested above, Ian Carr's vision for Jazz-Rock Fusion's potential is about as complete as anyone's that I've encountered: where others are imitators or simply jumping on a bandwagon with the other "cool kids" (like Miles, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Mann, Jack DeJohnette, Donald Byrd and even Herbie Hancock (who was really more into exploring the latest and greatest technologies), Ian is actually totally committed, invested, and immersed in the movement--which I really admire. On Solar Plexus one can see Ian growing: spanning two worlds at the same time, with one foot still drawing from all that was fresh and innovative in the pop-jazz world of the 1960s while the other is in the forward-thinking, potential-realizing of his own imagination.

A-/five stars; another minor masterpiece of cutting-edge, exploratory Jazz-Rock Fusion from one of the true leaders and apostles of the movement.

In effect a NUCLEUS album, I can see, however, how/why Ian Carr dropped that moniker for this album in that only one musician (other than himself) remains from the original Nucleus albums (Elastic Rock and We'll Talk about it Later). (Brian Smith.)

1. "Belladonna" (13:42) an album that sounds very much as if it is taking its cues and inspiration from the post-Bitches Brew work of Joe Zawinul & Wayne Shorter (who had just launched their WEATHER REPORT project with both the self- titles debut and 1972 release, I Sing the Body Electric, both having been released prior to Belladonna's July recording sessions) and especially, Herbie Hancock, whose Mwandishi and Crossings albums had also both been released prior to Belladonna's recording sessions. (In case you were wondering, Chick Corea's Return to Forever album had its European release in September of 1972, two months after, Belladonna came out.) While Brian Smith's soprano sax is the real start of this show, Gordon Beck's peaceful Hohner electric piano is a key component to its success. While Brian's play and melodies are quite pleasing, even enjoyable, the song never gets elevated into anything but a long late night contemplative--and, perhaps a fitting inspiration for Vangelis Papathanassiou for the spacey "New Age" music that would occupy his attention for the rest of his life. (26.333/30)

2. "Summer Rain" (6:13) after a 90-second slow and deliberated intro in which Ian's trumpet and Brian's tenor sax set the melodic groundwork, this song is blessed by a dynamic breakout performance on the "dirty" Fender Rhodes by a Kiwi age-mate of Ian's, Dave MacRae (who would stay with Ian for the next three Ian Carr/Nucleus albums). I find myself not only absolutely mesmerized by this piece, but actually loving both the sound and melodies created by Dave and his Fender Rhodes. (It's the same sound that French downtempo chillout band AIR used so successfully on their massively-popular 1998 debut album, Moon Safari.) Bass, jazz guitar (mixed far-left into the background) and chill drums progress throughout the length of the song. Weird to hear Allan Holdsworth--the Allan Holdsworth--relegated to playing rhythm/background jazz guitar using neither his own trademark scales nor his own "trademark" sound. (9.6667/10)

3. "Remadione" (3:48) flutes take up a full two minutes of this song's opening while dirty Fender Rhodes electric piano (L) and more rock/proggy lead electric guitar gently support. The third and fourth minutes see the full band engage in another AIR-like downtempo motif while Dave and Allan ramp up considerably their "duel." (9/10)

4. "Mayday" (5:41) opening with the "Shaft"-like cymbal play and over all sound of Bitches Brew and Mwandishi/Crossings, Allan is strumming away wildly in the background while Dave MacRae and Gordon Beck. At 3:35 the band's rhythm section feels as if it finally "falls into" the song's main motif--which is an awesome jazz-rock groove while Brian continues soloing. The finish is tailed off with a coordinated horn section riff and poof! It's over! I'm not so great a fan of Brian's sax solo (most of the time I don't even hear it) but the bass and double keyboard play are awesome. (9.125/10)

5. "Suspension" (6:15) opening tracks dedicated to bamboo flutes, electric pianos, and percussion sounds is kind of cool--definitely evoking garden and/or Japanese/Asian images/feelings. Roy Babbington's bass enters around 1:15, soloing on its own as if trying to find its place in the mix, but then suddenly at 1:55 he "falls into" a steady riff that becomes the foundation for the rest of the song--and which Allan Holdsworth doubles up with his own lowest octave strings. Meanwhile the bamboo flute and Gordon Beck's dreamy Hohner electric piano continue to explore the background but now we add Ian's trumpet up front left and, soon, Dave MacRae's dirty Fender Rhodes in the right channel. The bamboo flutes disappear as Ian and the two electric pianos continue to explore their passions on their own tracks with their own separately effected instruments (Dave's Rhodes getting particularly wild--sounding like a wile organ or heavily-treated lead guitar). Despite a rather mundane and pastoral opening, this one became something quite interesting--especially with that cool Fender Rhodes sound flailing aggressively away in the final third. (9.125/10)

6. "Hector's House" (4:33) though definitely firmly rooted in the rock traditions, this one has one of the more convincing jazz-rock feels to it--all built on a riff and motif that is not so far from the opening song, "Song for the Bearded Lady" from We'll Talk about it Later. Brian Smith really tears an awesomely-smooth high-speed performance on his soprano sax in the second and third minutes while Allan Holdworth really rips up the soundwaves in the fourth with his jazz-rock guitar shredding. Once again there are such highs in this song to offset the lows/deficiencies. (9.125/10)

Total Time: 40:12

One of the most significant outcomes of the making of this album is the meeting of young Allan Holdsworth and elder statesman Gordon Beck as the two would forge a life-long friendship that would result in their collaboration on no less than four albums over the next few decades.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of highly-creative First or Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion.

With 'Elastic Rock' (1970) and 'We'll Talk About It Later' (1971) the jazz-rock / fusion group Nucleus set the highest standard for seventies instrumental jazz rock. This outfit led by Ian Carr was heavily influenced by Miles Davis' transition from bebop to fusion as pioneered on the album 'In a Silent Way'. The band has some funk and rock influences as well. 'Solar Plexus' was also released in 1971, but it wasn't initially planned to be a Nucleus record - all tracks are written by Carr here. The production sound is still quite good, but don't expect that glorious sound of the before mentioned albums. The compositions are less melodic and usually flow around a rather simple chord pattern. The musicianship is of the highest order with beautiful Fender Rhodes sounds, clean stratocaster guitar, tight funky jazz drums, thumping bass and a great assortment of wind-instruments. On side one 'Bedrock Deadlock' shows Ian Carr experimenting with avant-garde to little success in my humble opinion. Side two is perhaps a more pleasant listen with groovy jazz-rock that makes up for great sophisticated background music. Compared to the other records of this band in this era 'Solar Plexus' is less interesting for the progressive rock crowd and therefor I can only give it three stars. Do check out the other records by this band though!

In my review of their second album: "We'll talk about it later" I've stated it was a much improvement over the debut which I've described as nice. Well, I'm afraid I'm a bit in dispute with myself now :) After several listenings I consider the debut excellent. It is true their second is even better but the difference isn't big, as they were brilliant right from the start. "Elastic rock" is mostly relaxed (thankfuly not over-polished) but no less passionate and holds many beautiful themes and some dense moments for a good measure. Maybe even more jazz-rooted. It starts with thunderous drums and beautiful but short brass-driven melody to jump over to the next rather calm track, although with quite busy drums by John Marshall. This slowly emerging, a bit abstract and psychedelic feeling prevails through the whole album with all the instruments getting their chance to shine on the way. Not neceserily with speedy solos but with the feeling. Amazing stuff. I rate it with 4,5 star, just like I did with their third "Solar Plexus". Definitely my kind of fussion. Not knowing the later ones I cannot speak of them, but all their first three albums are VERY highly recomended for jazz rock/fussion fans,

Nucleus (here led by Ian Carr as he was the main composer) was one of the major players in the jazz-rock-fussion premier league. Their third release Solar Plexus is another proof to that, as it easily stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of the genre (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soft Machine, Weather Report). The music is based on two musical themes and the band is expanding them to work out their relation to each other in the end. As the result the album is a combination of outhere atmospheres with realy groovy drive - it must be my sweet spot as I enjoy it tremendously. 4 and a half star from me.

Unbelievably good! It's probably my favourite album of the whole fussion genre. I love Soft Machine, Mahavishnu is very good obviously, Weather Report too and of course Miles and Herbie are both titans, but this Nucleus is something special. Significantly better from their first one, which is nice, but "We'll talk about it later" is another level. The musicianship is flawless, the compositions brilliant, the improvisations marvelous. I know I'm not very specific here, but it's hard to be when dealing with a masterpiece like this. There is a place for calm and beautiful moody moments and for frenetic interplay. There is always something interesting going on but never too dense which in some cases can make a listener a bit tired and tracks hard to differ one from another. But not here, here everything is in the right dose, vocals included. Perfect! I'm listening with awe.

What a spirit! Trumpet player Ian Carr has been head of this crew, yet existing until 1989, called up as pioneers of Jazz Rock with good reason. Anyhow, concerning this line-up in 1971, if you are genre affine somehow, two other names are absolutely striking in the first instance. Karl Jenkins (keyboards) and drummer John Marshall also were longtime Soft Machine key figures later. You won't fail to recognize this sound-wise. They are opening with the absolute highlight Song For The Bearded Lady which features some wonderful jam appeal. The song's main theme later will appear on Soft Machine's 'Bundles' again, while showing Alan Holdsworth in the ranks. Backed by a compelling groove all members are coming into bloom here with some solo activity more or less.

Chris Spedding is responsible for the guitar playing, not in the same unique Holdsworth style of course, but absolutely fancy-pancy too, especially while beautifully interacting with Jenkins. Strong wind instrument implementation to notice, not only by Carr, but also due to Brian Smith on sax and flute. Some oriental touch given by the way on the following Sun Child. This stuff must have inspired the German Embryo crew too, I'm sure. Just mentioning Oasis for example some avantgarde moments leaning towards Miles Davis are presented. Well, this is an album I'll be stuck to as long as I'm still breathing. The extraordinary verve decreases a bit towards the end, otherwise I would have rated this a masterpiece of prog music with ease. 4.5 stars.

I absolutely adore this album.

One of the better fusion-albums from the UK. The trumpet of Ian Carr is very recognizable, almost like Miles Davis or Roy Hargrove. A lot of bop-styled trumpet, with some great sax-work aswell.

But the accompanying music is more funky, stylized with lots of piano and electric piano, percussion and some funky bass. This is not high-octane jazz rock fusion like Return to Forever and Weather Report but more laid-back birth of the cool- jazz rock fusion. I like this more laidback style.

All members of this Ian Carr's Nucleus were also members of Nucleus, so I don't really understand the name-change. But a lot of jazzrock bands did the same (Return to Forever, Headhunters). The bandleader's name is more important than the bandname itself. But to me this is just another Nucleus album.

NUCLEUS and its frontman, trumpetist Ian Carr (the albums we are now dealing with have both the band name and Carr's name on top of them, in various combinations) were among the leading acts in the British jazz fusion scene in the early seventies. Those listeners that are into the [post-Third] jazz era of SOFT MACHINE, are most likely already familiar with Nucleus -- and if not, in Nucleus they will surely find another band to appreciate. In fact several musicians who had played in Nucleus joined Soft Machine: Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington, Allan Holdsworth, John Marshall... This brand new Esoteric Recordings release Torrid Zone is a 6-disc (in total 6 h 20 min) box set containing nine Nucleus/Carr albums released by Vertigo in 1970-1975: Elastic Rock, We'll Talk About It Later, Solar Plexus, Belladonna, Labyrinth, Roots, Under the Sun, Snakehips Etcetera and Alleycat.

The 48-page booklet features the album informations and an essay written by rock journalist Sid Smith. Since the chronological continuum of the albums understandably divides many of them into two discs -- one disc having material from as many as three albums -- at least the booklet could have been slightly more systematically edited; for example the album covers are in many cases placed somewhere else, in the middle of the essay. Also I wish, as usual, that the track lengths were marked. Especially when they vary a lot, it would be good to know whether you're listening to a brief or a 15-minute piece.

In a nutshell, Nucleus played instrumental fusion/jazz-rock in which jazz is the dominant part of the equation. Trumpet, flugelhorn, saxes and flutes are central in the arrangements, but also guitar is often essential. Some of these albums are entirely composed by Ian Carr and some have many composers. Releasing nine albums in five years, what a work ethic Ian Carr had! No wonder that the line-up was under a constant change. The best known albums especially in prog circles are the first two that share the same line-up (e.g. guitarist Chris Spedding and reeds/keys player Karl Jenkins). Elastic Rock is seen as one of the most noteworthy fusion albums all time. Excuse me for not going into album-by-album analysis or into describing music in a more detailed fashion, I'll just pick up some interesting notions. Solar Plexus is, according to Carr's original liner notes, "based on two short themes which are stated at the beginning ('Elements I & II'). The first theme is angular and has a slow, crab-like movement: the second theme is direct, simple and diatonic". There are two shorter pieces exploring both themes, while 'Snakehip's Dream' "tries to fuse both themes". That long piece which Carr had been developing for a whole year was a sort of a musical blueprint for future Nucleus releases.

The Ian Carr album Belladonna features a relatively compact small group of six musicians. For me one of the most interesting albums here is Belladonna's follower Labyrinth (1973), a more "widescreen" work which was inspired by the Greek myth of the the Minotaur. Vocalist Norma Winstone has quite a big role on a couple of tracks. This album also features another celebrated trumpetist, Kenny Wheeler. BTW, drummer Tony Levin is just a name-sake of the famous bassist. Roots (1973) uses the vocals of Joy Yates, to a lesser extent. For the next album Under the Sun (1974) the whole line-up around Carr was changed (e.g. reeds player Bob Bertles, keyboardist Gordon Beck and guitarists Jocelyn Pitchen and Ken Shaw). The two final Vertigo albums albums, Snakehips Etcetera and Alleycat (both 1975) are funkier in style.

Ian Carr's most productive years as a musician ended during the 80's for health reasons. Alzheimer's disease led to his death in 2009. Today he is a notable forefigure for the new British jazz generation. This package of nine albums is a great hommage to his timeless work.

Nucleus ' Elastic Rock (1970)

I liked this record at first spin. Obviously you can hear influences from Miles Davis (In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew) and Soft Machine (that warm thick sound). The energy and vibe of the record reminds me a bit of early Colosseum at its jazziest. The rock influences are little, but enough to give the record that warm heavy psych sound. Nucleus has a nixe mixture of composition and improvised solo's of wind and electric guitar, without loosing their musical imagination and ability to offer the listener interesting atmospheres and harmonies. I think that's what makes the record attractive for listeners of progressive rock ' it's full of that adventurous spirit. Moreover, the drumming is exciting throughout. The album showers the listeners with great musical ideas, only to become slightly disjointed in the last three shorter tracks. Still a very consistent record. Artwork on the Akarma vinyl reprint is pure psychedelic bliss. Highly recommended for listeners of jazz-rock en eclectic prog.