A TAB IN THE OCEAN

TAB IN THE OCEAN is often considered by many fans of the group as their crowning achievement and i can understand why even if i prefer JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EYE. This album is definitely more mature than its predecessor, less ''smoky '', more organized, but it also has lost its psychedelic craziness that was present on the first album.

We have more of a serious album a la YES with a very well worked long suite which take the ex- whole side 1 of the LP and 3 tracks on side 2. The space side of the band is gone for sure to leave room for more structured compositions and a more (hard!!!) rock edge.

The best song is of course the title track, a real prog classic any symphonic rock lover will like.Especially the beginning is absolutely GRANDIOSE and is as great as prog can be. Majestic organ a la FOCUS, a nice guitar riff and pounding marching drums bringing you all the way to total ecstasy, very symphonic: a total delight that has to be heard by any prog lover. I am surprised to notice that this album and other NEKTAR albums from their golden era are getting just a few reviews...on a prog site.

Please stop listening for a moment to FOXTROT and CTTE and make yourself a favor: get NEKTAR, get early NOVALIS, get GROBSCHNITT and discover absolute symphonic jewels fom the time when prog was king.They deserve to be discovered and you won't be disappointed .

The second side is more of a straightforward affair ,with a harder sound of guitar! No, that's not metal but remember IRON MAIDEN made a cover of the last song KING OF TWILIGHT!! that's telling you something! DESOLATION VALLEY is a very nice moody tune that is still played live by NEKTAR these days. CRYING IN THE DARK is kind of hard rockish, with a lot of ALLBRIGHTON playing the guitar hero, not too prog enough for my taste.

A very good album that should be in any prog collection, at least for the self titled suite, a monument to symphonic prog. Also the cover is wonderful and is a pice of art, well in the spirit of these times!!

4 STARS

Share this NEKTAR review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to febus
• Report this review (#131684)
• Buy NEKTAR music online with PA partners
• Show all NEKTAR MP3/Stream
• Go to NEKTAR page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to A Tab in the Ocean page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for NEKTAR related discussions