A TAB IN THE OCEAN

A Tab In The Ocean is a competent early 70s prog album from Nektar, a UK band that occupies a middle-ground between symphonic and space-rock, sounding like a German kraut band doing symphonic Prog. Somehow I associate the band with Eloy's early albums, offering a similar mix of organ-heavy symphonic rock.

The musicianship is generally very enjoyable, it almost reaches outstanding levels but especially on the long title track there's still a lot of room for improvement. The piece lacks that flash of brilliance to make the songs as memorable as say a Genesis or Yes epic. The reason may be the vocal melodies which have not evolved much beyond 60s psychedelic standards. The shorter songs manage to convince me a lot more, being fresher and a lot tighter. I can see some Hawkwind fans digging this.

A Tab In The Ocean is a fine album that easily holds its ground against other bands operating in the shadow of the giants. But it's not a lost masterpiece. 3.5 stars of course.