Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Nucleus
Label: Vertigo Records
Release: 1970
Length: 40:46
Rating: 4.5/5
Nucleus were British pioneers of jazz rock fusion and a cult band whose constant lineup shuffling tied them inextricably to the better-known Canterbury champions Soft Machine. Their career, which ran from 1969 to 1985, started out as the brainchild of idiosyncratic trumpeter Ian Carr, a former member of the Rendell-Carr Quartet and a die-hard fan of the legendary Miles Davis. Carr’s love affair with jazz fusion bloomed the moment he first heard Davis’s legendary album “In a Silent Way” (1969). He carried his fascination with fusion over to British soil and became one of the pioneers of this revolutionary genre.
The brilliant trumpeter built his band, which often billed itself as Ian Carr’s Nucleus, around top-notch jazz players like future Soft Machine members Karl Jenkins (keyboards/oboe) and drummer John Marshall, future Gilgamesh bassist Jeff Clyne and saxophonist/flutist Brian Smith. The band’s biggest trump card, though, was guitar maestro Chris Spedding, the lone rocker among a bunch of jazzers, who injected a healthy dose of heavy rock punch into individual tracks with his bristling riffs and breakneck solos, while also cultivating a distinctive feel for rhythmic subtlety. Alongside Nucleus, Spedding also built himself an interesting solo career. Later he founded his own band, Sharks, and made a name as a sought-after session player, working with the likes of Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Elton John, Nick Mason, Jack Bruce and Katie Melua. He’s also known as the producer of early demo recordings by punk legends Sex Pistols.
Not long after the original lineup came together in 1969, Nucleus won first prize at the prestigious jazz festival in Montreux. At that point they were at least one step ahead of their peers Sot Machine, who were still shedding their old psychedelic rock skin. While Soft Machine were rockers who slowly morphed into masters of jazz fusion, Nucleus (Spedding aside) were jazzers from head to toe, and they discovered the wonderful world of fusion well ahead of the pack.
Their cult debut with the cheeky title “Elastic Rock” carries historic weight in the development of British jazz rock fusion, having come out just a month after Davis’s classic “Bitches Brew” (1970). The album is a genuine embodiment of a refined blend of jazz, progressive rock and psychedelia, with a wealth of intelligent improvisations and a full bag of solo spots. Nucleus show off their knack for combining drama and sophistication right on the opener “1916”, where they wow with a wild drum solo and a funereal trumpet accompaniment that easily conjures up the archaic mood of World War I.
Next up is the excellent title track, a vivid showcase of their signature style and all-round instrumental talent. Among other things, they play around with psychedelic elements, deftly woven between superb improvisations on bass and woodwinds. Carr’s trumpet adds just the right amount of subtlety, while Spedding delivers a guitar solo that’s typically him and entirely original. Despite the high complexity, they keep a nice dose of melodicism throughout. “Striation” is a short, fiery improvisation dominated by the sounds of oboe, bass and guitar. The romantic-nostalgic “Taranaki”, where an exotic atmosphere blossoms, is one of the album’s highlights, with energetic woodwinds over subtle piano accompaniment and a dreamy acoustic guitar solo.
“Twisted Track” lives up to its name to the letter, a breakneck instrumental merry-go-round through mad woodwind improvisations, later joined by a juicy guitar solo. Both parts of “Crude Blues” reflect the band’s extraordinary sense for instrumental fluidity and magic, especially thanks to Carr’s trumpet and Jenkins’s keyboards. Then comes the continuation of the opening “1916”, subtitled “The Battle of Boogaloo”, where sharpened, rocking guitar riffs amid dominant, impulsive woodwinds and all-round rhythmic heat make for a merciless battle march. “Torrid Zone”, at over eight minutes the longest piece on the album, is a true embodiment of fusion perfection, where elements of traditional jazz, progressive rock and psychedelia come together in a wild dance. In this passionate improvisational orgy, the standouts are Carr’s witty trumpet solo, Clyne’s refined feel for laying down melodic bass lines and Smith’s outstanding saxophone performance.
A direct flow into the dreamy “Stonescape” follows, built mainly on Carr’s impulsive solo and tender piano accompaniment. “Earth Mother” is another first-rate fusion treat, with salty guitar riffs, woodwind wizardry and thickened bass lines, where the rhythmic improvisations take on almost epic proportions. The closing “Never-Never Land” is taken care of by a magnificent Marshall drum solo. “Speaking for Myself, Personally, in My Own Opinion, I think…” is a razor-sharp piece with a delirious interplay between woodwinds, drums and guitar passages. The finale “Perspehone’s Jive” only cements the band’s excellence in the field of refined instrumental fluidity and confirms their exceptional knack for building spirited melodies and rhythms.
The legendary British pioneers of jazz rock fusion delivered a top-class showcase of instrumental fluidity, rhythmic wizardry and a finely tuned knack for building infectious motifs right on their debut. Under Carr’s strict but fair leadership, they went on to release a slew of superb albums in the following years, constantly refining their distinctive brand of jazz fusion and building on it with new and often unpredictable sonic elements. “Elastic Rock” remains one of their peaks and an album that played one of the key roles in the development of British jazz fusion. British progressive rock already had quite a few bands mixing jazz and rock elements at the time. Among the better-known ones, besides Soft Machine, were King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and Colosseum. But the real British jazz fusion, outside the rock skeleton, was only born after this monumental album came out.
Lineup
Ian Carr – trumpet, horn
Karl Jenkins – electric piano, oboe, piano, baritone saxophone
Brian Smith – tenor and soprano saxophone, flute
Chris Spedding – electric and acoustic guitar
Jeff Clyne – bass guitar
John Marshall – drums, percussion
Production
Peter King
Tracklist
1. 1916
2. Elastic Rock
3. Striation
4. Taranaki
5. Twisted Track
6. Crude Blues, Pt. 1
7. Crude Blues, Pt. 2
8. 1916- The Battle of Boogaloo
9. Torrid Zone
10. Stonescape
11. Earth Mother
12. Speaking for Myself, Personally, in My Own Opinion, I Think…
13. Persephone’s Jive
