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I've owned this
album since the mid-1970s, though I probably haven't listened to it for 15
years. That said, I was watching something on cable television that
featured a song I really liked, though not enough to track it down.
The very next day I was looking at a book on Krautrock and decided to pull
out some of my German albums. The first one I put on the turntable was
"Down To Earth". The minute I put it on I recognized the
song I'd heard the previous evening - 'Astral Man'. Strange to say the
least ... Produced
by Peter Hauke and the band, 1974's "Down
To Earth" was the group's fifth studio set and marked a
creative turning point for the band. Although a pseudo-concept piece
built around a circus theme (don't ask me what the plotline was about
... life as a cosmic circus?), the album was surprisingly mainstream and
commercial. Such an abrupt change in musical direction probably cost
the band the bulk of their longstanding fan base, while the collection's new
found accessibility (hard to imagine saying that in a Nektar review) didn't
do much to generate mega sales. For what its worth, I think the album
was pretty killer. Backed by an all star cast including singer P.P.
Arnold, Hawkwind's Bob Calvert (serving as ringmaster complete with a
horrible German accent) and sax player Chris Mercer, tracks such as 'Astral Man',
'Early Morning Clown' and 'Show Me the Way' were catchy, highly melodic and
radio ready. Think that was hard to believe? Okay, the
instrumental 'Nelly the
Elephant', 'Fidgety Queen' and 'Oh Willy' were actually funky !!! No
bullsh*t. F-U-N-K-Y. If they'd given it a chance older fans
would've found quite a bit to like, including 'That's Life' which featured a wonderful mix of progressive
and rock moves and some sterling bass
moves from Derek Moore. Definitely a highpoint in the group's
extensive discography. -
Opening up with what sounded like circus crowd sound effects (and featured
throughout the album), 'Astral Man' showcased Derek Moore's innovative bass
and proved a surprisingly commercial slice of pop-rock. This one would
not have sounded bad on top-40 radio stations. rating:
*** stars -
Yeah, Bob Calvert's Teutonic-favored spoken word segments didn't seem to
have much to do with the story, but if anything,
the instrumental 'Nelly the
Elephant' was even more pop-oriented, with a great melody and some
tasteful synthesizers from Allan Freeman. rating:
** stars -
With a beguiling melody, 'Early Morning
Clown' was easily one of the prettiest songs they ever wrote, The song
also featured a fantastic Roye Albrighton lead guitar segment. Shame
it wasn't longer. rating:**** stars -
Powered by some great fuzz bass and the band's frequently overlooked skills
in the harmony vocal department, 'That's
Life' offered up a wonderful mix of commercial and more progressive moves (Moore's
performance was breathtaking). Overlooking Calvert's irritating spoken
word segment this was another album highlight. rating:****
stars -
Opening up with some nice Albrighton slide guitar and a funky horn section, Fidgety Queen'
was a totally unexpected slice of funk ... You wouldn't have though an
Anglo-German progressive unit could pull something like this off, but they
somehow managed to do it.
rating:**** stars -
'Oh Willy' found the band diving headlong
into conventional hard rock ... By all intents it should have been a
total creative disaster, but to be honest it wasn't half bad. Once
again Albrighton turned
in some nice guitar runs and the song's abrupt changes in direction (about
half way through it morphed into a pretty, bluesy instrumental), before
returning to it's initial rock orientation gave it some additional depth.
rating:*** stars -
Showcasing Albrighton's frequently overlooked acoustic guitar chops, 'Little Boy'
was another pretty ballad that had commercial potential.
rating: *** stars -
To my ears 'Show Me the Way'
was the album's most progressive oriented effort. Not exactly
progressive in the way their earlier albums were, but still more elaborate
than the rest of the album's pop orientation. The track also featured
P.P. Arnold sharing vocals with Albrighton.
rating: ** stars -
There simply wasn't much to say about the closing instrumental 'Finale'.
It was over in a flash ...
rating: ** stars The
album was tapped for a pair of singles in the UK -
1974's 'Fidgety
Queen' b/w 'Little Boy' (United
Artists catalog number UP 35706) -
1974's 'Astral Man' b/w 'Nelly The
Elephant' (United Artists catalog number UP 35853) Way
too commercial for long time fans, yet too progressive for pop fans
... no way for these guys to win in the court of commercial sales. "Down
To Earth" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Astral Man (Nektar) - 3:07
2.) Nelly the
Elephant (instrumental) (Nektar) - 5:02
3.) Early Morning
Clown (Nektar) - 3:21
4.) That's
Life (Nektar) - 6:49
(side
2)
1.) Fidgety Queen (Nektar) - 4:04 2.)
Oh Willy (Nektar) - 4:00 3.)
Little Boy (Nektar) - 3:03 4.)
Show Me the Way (Nektar) - 5:55 5.)
Finale (instrumental) (Nektar) - 1:36
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