Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Nucleus
Label: Vertigo Records
Released: 1970
Length: 45:48
Rating: 5/5
“We’ll Talk About It Later” was the second album to come out of the workshop of British jazz rock fusion legends Nucleus. The dust from the stunning debut “Elastic Rock” (1970) hadn’t even settled when they came back with the same lineup, even stronger, and made the best record of their career, one that put them shoulder to shoulder with the biggest names in jazz fusion. Legendary trumpeter and composer Ian Carr and his gang of instrumental perfectionists became even more tightly knit on “We’ll Talk About It Later”, working as a true collective of equals, and they came out with a noticeably more aggressive musical approach.
Nucleus were Carr’s band from day one, so his trumpet held a far more central place in their sound than in most other jazz fusion bands, where it was usually absent or played a purely marginal role. A huge fan of the legendary Miles Davis, he and his bandmates often billed themselves as Ian Carr’s Nucleus, which caused plenty of confusion, since a lot of people weren’t sure whether it was a solo project or a band. Still, the Scottish trumpet master always gave his instrumental colleagues plenty of freedom, including when it came to writing individual pieces. On this album it was mainly keyboardist Karl Jenkins who shone as a composer, writing most of the best tracks.
In just a few months, these top-notch players leveled up and, on “We’ll Talk About It Later”, pushed their unique fusion of jazz and progressive rock even further with a bigger dose of unpredictable improvisation and solo spots. Chris Spedding’s electric guitar, the one rocker among all those jazzers, gets an even bigger role here. His scorching riffs and witty solos, teamed up with the magnificent horn section, make for a hellish instrumental combo that would make plenty of heavy rock bands of the day blush. Carr’s trumpet playing is stunning again, honestly the best in the history of British jazz fusion, and under a more-than-obvious Miles influence. Together with Jenkins, who occasionally plays oboe and sax, and saxophonist/flutist Brian Smith, he forms a deadly horn section. The Clyne/Marshall rhythm section, too, often sounds like it came from another world.
From start to finish, the album boasts an almost addictive energy, fluidity, and dynamics. With their electrified jazz rock fusion, Nucleus drop a veritable instrumental thermonuclear bomb, and the opening track makes that crystal clear. The magnificent wrecking ball “Song For the Bearded Lady” is one of the best and best-known pieces in the band’s history, a band defined by constant eruptions of raw kinetic energy and pure musical perfectionism. Right from the intro, Nucleus riddle the listener with glorious horn harmonies and white-hot guitar passages, while devastating drum fills and rattling bass lines roam between them. Carr’s trumpet, together with the saxophones, literally grinds everything in its path. His solo is without doubt one of the best trumpet solos I’ve ever heard. Just as much of a “star” of this track is Spedding with his wild improvised bursts, while Jenkins’ performance on electric piano can stand up to the best work of the keyboard greats of jazz fusion and prog rock. This explosive instrumental fairy tale will make the mouth water of every instrumental gourmand in an instant.
The album continues at a similarly fired-up tempo with the excellent “Sun Child”, which has no shortage of smart improvised passages and colorful rhythm work. Mischievous horn arrangements get tangled up here in a wild dance with cheeky guitar phrases and snarling bass lines. Spedding’s wah-wah passages flow brilliantly through unpredictable rhythmic combinations and often find themselves caught between two fires, courtesy of the trumpet and sax. “Lullaby For a Lonely Child” lives up to its name with a calm, almost serene intro on percussion and electric piano. Subtle trumpet accompaniment and elegant acoustic guitar touches add a sense of grandeur to the piece. Thanks to its delicate pathos, especially in the mellow rhythm sections, it’s one of the most beautiful pieces in the band’s history. Next comes the title track “We’ll Talk About It Later”, which features plenty of wild rock moments on electric guitar. From there, the incredible level of dynamics wins you over through crazy improvisations, mostly on guitar and keyboards, along with a frenzied horn section.
“Oasis”, at almost ten minutes, is the longest and also the most ambitious piece on the album, where the furious use of horns and all sorts of rhythmic embellishments will floor you. Here Carr bows to his great teacher Miles Davis through a trumpet orgy. Everything on this track is food for the instrumental gods: Marshall’s killer use of the cymbals, Clyne’s funky bass lines, the spaced-out horn improvisations, and Spedding’s hard-rock-spiced guitar phrases. The biggest surprise of the album, though, is the burlesque “Ballad of Joe Pimp”, which, with Spedding’s vocals, is a huge contrast to Nucleus’ usual instrumental music. It’s the only piece in their history that, thanks to a scorching guitar riff Black Sabbath could have been proud of, sits closer to hard rock than jazz. Spedding’s singing is soaked in black humor about a fake relationship. The mischievous horns nod along to the snarling riffs in the background, adding even more spice to this atypical but lovable piece.
“Easter 1916” provides the album’s temperamental finale. The title and the spoken words are inspired by the decisive year of the struggle for Irish independence, which is also evident from the photograph on the album cover. While wild drum fills roam through pulsating guitar riffs and aggressive horns, a short recital about this important historical event can be heard in the background. Smith’s sax solo is excellent, and even more impressive is Marshall’s drum solo, which may even be the best of his career. The perfect closer for an album that embodies the idealism of jazz fusion.
“We’ll Talk About It Later” ranks among the finest achievements in the history of jazz rock fusion, right alongside the best work of genre giants like Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, and so on. In my opinion, it also belongs among the five best albums in the history of British jazz fusion. With it, Nucleus hit their peak in crafting timeless instrumental harmonies and improvisations, weaving together the best qualities of jazz and rock. Despite its brilliance, though, the album failed to bring them wider recognition. Throughout the rest of their career, they never managed to reach the commercial success of the genre legends listed above either, but that takes nothing away from the greatness of this masterpiece and a few of their other achievements, which secured them immortality in jazz and instrumental music.
Note: this review is dedicated to Ian Carr (April 21, 1933 – February 25, 2009). R.I.P.
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 – upright bass, electric bass
John Marshall – drums, percussion
Production
Peter King
Tracklist
1. Song For The Bearded Lady
2. Sun Child
3. Lullaby For A Lonely Child
4. We’ll Talk About It Later
5. Oasis
6. Ballad of Joe Pimp
7. Easter 1916
