Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Nektar
Label: Ariola Records
Released: 1980
Runtime: 39:00
Rating: 2.5/5
Like plenty of other legendary, mostly British, progressive rock bands, who at the dawn of the eighties were handed three different paths, none of them particularly enviable when it came to preserving their artistic identity (split up because of new musical trends, adapt to those same trends with a total change of sound, or compromise between the old and new direction), Nektar too bowed to the demands of the new musical trends. Their last incarnation before the long breakup had very little in common with their space rock roots.
By the time “Man in the Moon” came out, their last album for more than twenty years before the reunion, Nektar had thoroughly overhauled their sound, which had moved much closer to a commercially appealing flavor of hard rock or melodic rock than to prog rock. Before recording started, the band once again went through a thorough shake-up of the lineup. First, original guitarist and singer Roye Albrighton returned to the fold, which was undoubtedly more than a welcome comeback, since his American replacement Dave Nelson, despite undeniable talent, failed to win over most of the fans in his short time with Nektar. Keeping Roye company as the only other original member was keyboardist Alan “Taff” Freeman, while the rhythm section went through an unexpected change.
Original bassist Derek Moore and original drummer Ron Howden were replaced by the practically unknown Carmine Rojas and David Prater. The two were certainly not on the level of their predecessors, but they were perfectly adequate for the album’s sonic direction, which didn’t call for overly complex rhythmic finesse. “Man in the Moon” was basically made up of pompous AOR power ballads, the main difference between them being that they were played at different tempos and with different levels of inspiration. Of the old sonic adventurousness and improvising, there’s practically not a trace left.
The predecessor “Magic Is a Child” (1977) had already sketched out a similar, much more basic and lighter direction, but still, probably nobody expected Nektar to try to make a radio hit on the very next project. Here and there, especially in the moments when the longer instrumental sections kick in, with Albrihton’s slide passages blending into Freeman’s ethereal synth textures, you can still catch that classic, prog rock Nektar, but moments like that mostly serve as a nostalgic memory of the golden days.
The opening “Too Young To Die”, with its many synthetic arrangements and a multi-voice chorus driven by a basic hard rock motif, thoroughly introduces the band’s new, melodic rock look. Of everything on the album it has the biggest hit potential, but it’s far from ranking among the better pieces in their story. “Angel” is a saccharine love ballad, the kind you’d sooner expect from Styx, with a slightly bigger dose of pathos in the chorus, than from former members of the club of the best prog rock bands of the seventies.
“Telephone” is another ballad, but this time a notch better, saved by good symphonic arrangements in the background, tasteful acoustic guitar passages and excellent singing from Roye, which even ranks among the highlights of his vocal career. “Far Away” is structured much like “Too Young To Die”, so another relatively successful stab at AOR, built on a combination of a punchy guitar phrase, deep synth lines and a multi-voice chorus, which could have been a bit more pronounced. “Torraine” is one of the few more inspired moments on the album, where the band’s experimental roots break through. It opens as a classic power ballad, with Albrihton once again impressing with a stunning vocal performance, before the composition surprisingly shifts into a longer instrumental section. In it, Roye and Alan Freeman, fusing short synth variations with guitar solo bits, manage to weave that signature Nektar magic for a short while, the magic that graced their best work.
“Can’t Stop You Now”, on the contrary, is a pretty average piece with funky rhythmic leanings and a boring chorus, though its middle section, with ethereally tinted keyboard lines, is a pleasant surprise. “We” is yet another unconvincing attempt to sound as commercially appealing as possible, while the harmonies added before the chorus try, unsuccessfully, to underline the lyrical theme of “brotherhood and equality”. It’s worth mentioning only for the usual excellent keyboard and guitar passages, which is nowhere near enough. The acoustic ballad “You’re Not Alone”, which Roye plays completely solo, is a surprisingly successful piece. His heartfelt singing over deft, melancholic chords is enough, and the central melody wins you over with its romantic, Celtic charm.
The band’s experimental side stirs a bit again at the end of the album, when the title track arrives, marked by an enigmatic, even slightly eerie atmosphere thanks to its slow rhythmic build-up and menacing bursts of punchy guitar phrases. During Albrighton’s singing you can hear an “alien” talking, a symbolic nod to their space rock past. The middle section has some breathtaking solos on slide guitar and keyboards, which confirm that there was still plenty of untapped experimental energy hiding in both of the band’s leading members.
“Man in the Moon” isn’t a bad album at heart, since it offers quite a few interesting bits for melodic rock fans, but sadly it falls well short of the usual sonic adventurousness of these legendary space rockers. The album lacks those songwriting and instrumental elements that took Nektar in the seventies to the ranks of the most exciting progressive rock bands of their time. The rare moments of inspiration can’t hide the bare fact that they tried their hardest to sound as “modern” as possible, and ended up looking like a totally average AOR band. The band’s collapse the following year was therefore inevitable. They could have kept going in this AOR direction and maybe even produced a radio hit or two, but at the wish of most of their fans they decided they’d rather not make fools of themselves at the expense of their magnificent prog rock legacy just to win over the “MTV generation”. Even though their comeback took more than twenty years, the decision to take a longer creative rest proved to be the right one.
Lineup
Roye Albrighton – guitar, lead vocals
Allan “Taff” Freeman – keyboards, backing vocals
Carmine Rojas – bass guitar, backing vocals
David Prater – drums, percussion
Production
Nektar
Track list
1.Too Young to Die
2.Angel
3.Telephone
4.Far Away
5.Torraine
6.Can’t Stop You Now
7.We
8.You’re Alone
9.Man in the Moon
