LIVE

What a breath of fresh air. They're back! As Mike Brockett says, 'it's as if someone put the cassette recorder on pause and then pressed play again. But what's with all the backing musicians? Superfluous to requirements...as were the black 'n' white momentos of life in a wintry hamburg handing out flowers to bewildered commuters.

Anyway back to the music. My favourite Nektar tracks of all time were a Tab in the Ocean and King of Twilight, but what reallly stole the show was Recycled. Roye put his heart and soul into that track, great look of determination in the opening riffs and passionate power vocals throughout. Good mood passages eptimising Nektar in this great treamtment of a fine album.

An interesting flashback to the Old Grey Whistle Test with Desolation Valley, which, on vinyl, was on the wrong album having to share with two of the greatest tracks of all time.

And where would Nektar be without Remember the Future? Unfortunately a condensed version, but probably the best part (thier 2005 DVD has both parts on it - brilliant stuff).

A few contrived interviews trying to endorse the addition of additional musicians, but what the heck the DVD is poetry in motion.

This live DVD is my introduction to Nektar, and I systematically got hold of their classic albums so this is definitely one for newcomers to the group. it features all their best songs and the psychedelic light show is incredible, very much like Pink Floyd's Barrett years. A swirling kaleidoscope of coloured lights is constantly screened on the band and they are pretty reserved as far as movement but they do acknowledge the crowd who adore them. They are all old guys now but they play well and they inject melodic rock into progressive structures so it is accessible music. This is the reunion for the NEARfest 2002 event and it is very good quality.

They launch straight into what arguably must be one of their most complex tracks, 'A Tab in the Ocean' and they do it masterfully. This is followed by a scorching version of 'Desolation Valley' and an edit of the magnum opus 'Remember the Future Part One'.

The best song from "Down to Earth" follows with the rollicking 'Nelly the Elephant', always a fan favourite. Some of the lesser known songs follow with 'Man in the Moon', 'It's All Over' and 'Now'. Albrighton is great on vocals and his guitar soars perfectly as it does on the studio releases. It is apparent that the band have really put some effort into making these treasures come to life.

The female vocals of Maureen McIntyre & Michelle Eckert are excellent and remind me of the Pink Floyd singers. There are some very good songs to follow that are live staples of the band, including 'Recycled', 'Lonely Roads' and 'Let It Grow', outstanding songs. A mesmirising version of the rocker with killer riffs follows in 'Crying in the Dark / King of Twilight'. These songs are among Nektar's best and to finish another track from "Down to Earth", 'Fidgety Queen' closes the show. It is a great performance well worth seeking out. I also love listening to the fans gush over their prog heroes in the bonus features interviewed by the voluptuous Liz Steen. The band are also interviewed and are fairly er..... down to Earth. I have owned this DVD for years and never grow tire of pulling it out now and then to relive the great music.