Recycled

Artist: Nektar
Label: Dream Nebula
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 5060071320228
ASIN: B0001IMDT2

Release Date: 2004-06-01

Recycled

Related Categories:

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Recycle
Cybernetic Consumption
Recycle Countdown
Automation Horrorscope
Recycling
Flight to Reality
Unendless Imaginations
Sao Paulo Sunrise
Costa del Sol
Marvellous Moses
It's All Over
Recycle [Mix]
Cybernetic Consumption [Mix]
Recycle Countdown [Mix]
Automation Horrorscope [Mix]
Recycling [Mix]
Flight to Reality [Mix]
Unendless Imaginations [Mix]
Sao Paulo Sunrise [Mix]
Costa del Sol [Mix]
Marvellous Moses [Mix]
It's All Over [Mix]

Similar Items:

Tab in the Ocean
Remember the Future
Down to Earth
Magic Is A Child
Journey to the Centre of the Eye

Customer Reviews:

Roye's Last Hurrah.......2006-08-25

Recycled turned out to be Roye Albrighton's final 70s album with Nektar--and what a good one it is, too. Apparently, a concept album about the biological and ecological consequences of mass consumerism, Recycled features some excellent synthesizer work by Larry Fast and additional touches such as an appearance by the English Chorale. The first half of the CD (especially "Automation Horrorscope" and "Cybernetic Consumption") is simply amazing, with both Fast and Albrighton taking center stage: swirling synthesizers and lots of crashing guitar create a virtual blitzkrieg of sound that only softens a bit with "Sao Paulo Sunrise," a beautiful, slinky piece that recalls the group's similar forays into funk on Remember the Future. And like that album, Recycled is imminently futuristic and psychedelic, sort of like a more melodic Hawkwind. Fans of Pink Floyd should also really dig this record. It's a record I rarely ever get tired of listening to.

A great prog rock album by Nektar.......2006-06-22

This 1975 album is just fantastic and reflects the input of sophisticated American electronic composer Larry Fast - for those of you that are not certain about this combination, trust me when I say his use of synthesizers on the album works really well (he is an excellent player).

What impresses me the most is the overall fullness and richness of the sound that they get on this album. It is truly epic and sweeping, with a full, trebly Rickenbacker bass sound, walls of synthesizers (mostly instruments by Bob Moog), and an excellent guitar tone. The vocals sound better too and there is better definition in the individual pieces of the drum kit. In addition to the improvement in the overall sound, Nektar wrote some of their most sophisticated material for this album - everything just sounds so...proggy. I should note however, that there are some moments that have the sheen of disco on them and are not very satisfying. I do feel however, that the quality of the remaining material more than compensates for the weaker moments. Each of the 11 tracks flows together in a song-cycle suite of sorts, there is fantastic ensemble work, and the playing by all of the members is extremely inspired. The pieces run the gamut of dynamics too, with thunderous passages and spacey sections dominated by synthesizers. Along with the core members, there are occasional vocals by backup singers - they are pretty good and not too obtrusive. In addition to the backup singers, the English Chorale is also featured and they are excellent.

As it appears on this newly remastered version, there are two versions of Recycled, including the original mix and a new mix by Geoff Emerick. The original mix is just incredible and the Geoff Emerick mix is also excellent with full, deep bass, and extremely crisp and well-articulated highs. There are however, noticeable differences in the new mix, with different instrumental parts, and various effects are thrown in here and there (like a lot of echo on the vocals). If I had to pick one mix over the other, I would have to say that I like the original better. There are also enhanced liner notes and photos of the band are scattered throughout.

All in all, this is a great Nektar album and is highly recommended along with Remember the Future (1973).

This long concept is an ever-green..ok for the remastered CD.......2005-04-09

Wow!!This long suite is an ever-green...even though honestly the second half is a bit uneven, in comparison to the first harmonic solutions of this kind of space rock /progressive music.I have always been appreciating their strange blend of space rock music,combined with some experimental solutions within a sort of progressive jazz, for many years!! Then you can add their clever use of power chords at the guitar and a good taste at the piano as well (listen to track #2 for instance), which complete this great debut album...of course the second half-as already explained to you above- is a bit uneven, but the final output is an unforgettable concept album, based upon 2 long songs and for me that's enough!!

Check this remastered version out!!

3.5 stars.......2004-11-10

Part one will lose you. Part two is absolutely smokin'. Sssssizzling, in fact.

I suppose you could go ahead and buy it.

My favorite Nektar album..........2004-08-21

I have to admit that I am not a huge Nektar fan, but I absolutely love this album....at least the first half of it, which is the best thing this band has ever done...in my opinion that is. The second half of the album saw Nektar flirting with pop, disco and cocktail jazz and pales when in comparison to the first half. The album does end on a wonderful note, however, with the gorgeous ballad "It's All Over", which features a very lovely piano solo by Taff Freeman. "Marvellous Moses" is kind of silly, both lyrically and musically, with Moses updated for the 20th Century as a tourist attraction...."BIONIC MOSES!"!!! It does have some very exciting musical passages in it, though.

The first half of the album is simply amazing. According to the liner notes for the remastered CD, the idea for the album came about during Nektar's first tour of the U.S. back in 1974, when the band were amazed at all the plastic cups and soda cans that were being thrown away. The first half is divided up into seven songs, though it all feels like one song to me, especially since the songs all seque together and share the same lyrical theme. I love every second of it, from Roye Albrighton's power chords, guitar trills, slide guitar solos and heavy metal riffs, to Freeman's piano solo during "Cybernetic Consumption", to Larry Fast's futuristic sounding synthesizers, Mo Moore's powerful bass playing and Ron Howden's solid drumming and the tympani roll that starts the album off...the whole piece is great and is at least equal to any side long music suite by Yes or E.L.P. I really like the lyrics, as well. That line "Imagine you're the prince of eagles, tears in your eyes" reminds me of that Indian with the tear running down his face from that one commercial about pollution. Very powerful lyrics, with strong exciting music to match.

The remastered CD has some very insightful liner notes and some pictures of the band. It also has as it's bonus tracks engineer Geoff Emerick's original mix of the album. Side two doesn't sound that different, but the first half of the album sounds VERY different indeed. It's almost like listening to another album. Larry Fast's synthesizers are much lower in the mix, as is Albrighton's guitar and Freeman's piano solo for "Cybernetic". The computerized and/or robotic voice for "Automaton Horrorscope" is replaced by just a normal speaking voice, the choir doesn't sing on "Unendless Imagination", the vocals sometimes sound out of synch. It's interesting to hear, though it makes me appreciate even more the album mix we have all come to know and love.

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