RECYCLED

Two of NEKTAR's most irritating attributes even in their best work were their tendency to jam and their misguided penchant for hard rock, both of which are toned down on "Recycled", yet it registers an even further decline for the group.

They have joined the masses decrying the destruction of the planet, but with no significant insights and few captivating musical interpretations. The production is better as befits a 1975 release, and the first side, taken as a whole, is a reasonable concept piece with repeating themes and more dynamics than we have come to expect, especially in the vocal department. LARRY FAST has influenced the group to unleash a more variegated arsenal of keyboards to the mix, but at the same time imposed a synthetic sheen here as on most of his other work. While some of that may be intentional given the thematic objectives, I suspect most is just poor judgement.

If side 1 might warrant 3 stars, side 2 squeezes out already tired ideas by unlikely bedfellows like PABLO CRUISE and has all the trappings of a group that has finally reached a creative dead end. The songs are longer but rather formulaic, and bereft of melodic or lyrical inspiration. Recycled indeed.