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Nucleus - Ian Carr with Nucleus: Solar Plexus CD (album) cover

IAN CARR WITH NUCLEUS: SOLAR PLEXUS

Nucleus

 

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.88 | 91 ratings

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Bonnek
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Solar Plexus is Nucleus' third album and while it has the same line-up as the first two, it feels much less like a band effort. Ian Carr has taken full control over the songwriting and while he did this most convincingly, I do miss the musical interplay and creative fire that was so stunning on the first two albums.

There's more jazz and less rock on this album. This is not only apparent in the jazzier nature of melodies and composition but also in the arrangements. There's less space for Spedding's guitars and Marshall's drums are buried a bit deeper in the sound. His playing is also remarkably more subdued and jazzier then on the previous albums. Instead, a legion of guest appears to complement the already 3-man counting brass section.

Now it's exactly the guitars and the drums that made all the difference for me and that made Nucleus' first two albums into such stunning jazz-rock experiences for me. Solar Plexus starts excellently enough with Changing Times and Bedrock Deadlock, but the album loses steam after those and the longer compositions, Snakehips Dream especially, are a bit too repetitious and tame for me.

Obviously, the above is a matter of taste. After all I'm a rock-boy with a less developed taste in more regular forms of jazz. I acknowledge the quality of the songwriting but I simply lack a bit of danger and adventure in this album. I guess this is one of those albums that I would appreciate more in a live performance.

Bonnek | 3/5 |

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