My Nektar collection has looked rather like a piece of Swiss cheese recently, but slowly and surely, Esoteric has been plugging the gaps. The reputation of each Nektar album is uncannily similar to that of the Star Trek film series, where the even-numbered films are revered, and the odd-numbered films are often skipped. In Nektar’s case, their second, fourth and sixth studio albums – A Tab in the Ocean, Remember the Future and Recycled – all contain side-long suites while their odd-numbered counterparts do not, making them a harder sell for prog aficionados. Indeed, it’s no coincidence that the title of the band’s fifth album – Down to Earth, recorded and released in 1974 – also signals that the songs here are much shorter than on Remember the Future.
So, judging a book by its cover, I was nervous that this would be a schlocky AOR fest, but was delighted to find out it was anything but. If anything, this album wears its progressive influences proudly, and has a loose ‘circus’ theme to tie the proceedings into a vague but somewhat satisfying ‘concept album’. Hawkwind vocalist Robert Calvert puts on an extremely affected foreign accent when acting as the ringmaster, announcing various acts. I was reminded of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but Roye Albrighton believed it was their Magical Mystery Tour. Close enough.
![Nektar - Down To Earth: Remastered & Expanded [4CD Edition]](https://theprogressiveaspect.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Nektar-Down-To-Earth-boxset.jpg)
The album kicks off with the cheery, upbeat Astral Man which has similar energy to the contemporary main theme of The Goodies (although it must be pointed out, the iconic TV theme would only debut in 1975 for the show’s fifth series), and does a similar job of getting the audience in the mood for some fun. Things take a turn with the mainly instrumental Nelly the Elephant, a slower but grander track that feels representative of a procession of elephants. Atypically, the band employs a brass section on this track to wonderful effect, and I was reminded heavily of the obscure but brilliant krautrock group Out of Focus, especially from their Four Letter Monday Afternoon album.
I discovered an interesting sidenote about this track, thanks to veteran journalist Dmitry Epstein’s interview with Derek Moore, published last year. By giving their song the same name as a popular children’s song, the members of Nektar began to be credited on some children’s albums moving forward due to erroneous or perhaps defensive crediting. I began to imagine 70s and 80s publishers manually checking physical metadata, discovering the members of Nektar and simply not knowing any better, with no way to check. It’s a canny way to make money, if you can manage it.
Early Morning Clown is quieter and more pastoral, but shows hints of Yes’s And You and I. The Yes homage continues more earnestly in the seven-minute, fully prog That’s Life, from the vocal ‘diddit’s in the bridge to the 7/8 guitar solo sections and Moore’s thunderous bass playing. After these 7/8 bits, they land on a chord remarkably similar to Yours Is No Disgrace. It’s just a Yes fest, but I’m here for it. Although there’s a fair bit of straight repetition in the composition (which I’ve noticed often with Nektar), the song evolves so organically that I’m delighted to hear it twice in a row. Soul singer P. P. Arnold graces the album with her vocals that complement the music well and add another dimension to it.
Over on Side Two, Fidgety Queen is raucous but rather basic on the prog scale. Only with Oh Willy do we return to some of the more satisfying complexity, as well as a soft interlude that juxtaposes the loud verse section. The slightly mournful Little Boy seems somewhat out of place here, but isn’t unpleasant. It’s just a stopgap before the final highlight of the album, Show Me the Way. Beginning at 39 seconds, the band hit on an unusual but infectious set of driving chords that I could not get enough of when I first heard them. A graceful, slow interlude gives way to another propulsive section where Albrighton chants the title meaningfully before bringing the song to a close abruptly. This would feel like too sudden a close, so the band cleverly bring back a bit more of Nelly the Elephant as a postlude.
The bad news is that the album is over in just 37 short minutes, but thankfully we still have another 3½ CDs to go! The rest of CD One has alternate demo mixes of the album; these are interesting to listen to and feature a few subtle differences, but are in no way better than the album versions, much like the mixes heard on the Recycled box set. There are also two minutes worth of Robert Calvert’s outtakes as he tries to nail the opening to Fidgety Queen, beginning with “You laaacky peebles.”
The second disc features a special ‘live-in-studio’ recording that the band made during the making of the album. They were celebrating bassist Derek Moore’s birthday on 27th March 1974 and recorded their jamming sessions for three hours (reportedly between 2 am and 5 am). I can’t tell if that means they actually recorded this music in the early hours of 28th of March, or if they were celebrating the coming of Moore’s birthday past midnight… for some reason the exact date matters to me. The band perform a riveting rendition of Desolation Valley/Waves, just for themselves, before delving into more freeform material, some of which would take more shape on their coming tours. I’m not really a fan of freeform music, but the tracks are pleasant and varied enough to pass the time with. It should also be noted that all of this music has been previously released as Unidentified Flying Abstract in 2002.
Then, the remaining two CDs feature a live recording of the group during their American tour supporting Down to Earth at the now-demolished Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri on 2nd April 1975, just a few months before they recorded Recycled. I was quite dumbfounded to discover that the band only played two cuts from the album on this date: Astral Man to open and Show Me the Way somewhere in the middle. Hardly ‘supporting’ the album at all, is it?
The good news is that this makes way for more of the band’s classic material, as well as music the band were working on; Nektar’s MO included refining their songs live on stage. Still, they might have tested the bravery/patience of their audience by playing the whole first side of Recycled as the second song of the night… maybe a few more better-known cuts would have eased the audience into it. As a listener from the future, however, I really enjoyed hearing one of my favourite albums by the group in its nascent stage, and was impressed at how similar it sounded to the final product. Later on, the band would also play Marvellous Moses/It’s All Over, successfully playing roughly ¾ of Recycled while playing only ¼ of Down to Earth.
The band also make it through the bulk of the ever-popular Remember the Future, although I was gutted that the beginning of the second part was abridged as the “I can see it all…” section is one of my favourites. As an encore, the band ditch the prog and play a rock n’ roll medley including such classics as Johnny B. Goode and Blue Suede Shoes, perhaps in an attempt to cater more to their American audience.
I thought that four CDs for less-well-remembered Nektar album seemed like overkill at first, but it actually makes a lot of sense if you’re looking for the complete experience. You get the album plus demo mixes and a live-in-studio recording made during the Down to Earth sessions and afterwards you’re invited to one of the band’s contemporary concerts. Esoteric have quite sensibly gathered together all the material needed to tell the full story of this surprisingly decent album. It’s the complete package!
[Album centre labels courtesy of Discogs]
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
Down to Earth
01. Astral Man (3:15)
02. Nelly the Elephant (4:57)
03. Early Morning Clown (3:22)
04. That’s Life (6:53)
05. Fidgety Queen (4:06)
06. Oh Willy (4:02)
07. Little Boy (3:05)
08. Show Me the Way (5:56)
09. Finale (1:42)
~ Bonus tracks – Chipping Norton Mixes
10. Astral Man (3:00)
11. Nelly the Elephant (4:47)
12. Early Morning Clown (3:23)
13. That’s Life (6:44)
14. Oh Willy (4:09)
15. Show Me the Way (5:56)
16. Robert Calvert Out-takes (2:05)
Time – 67:11
DISC TWO
Live at Chipping Norton Studios, 27th March 1974 between the hours of 2am and 5am
01. Desolation Valley/Waves (9:04)
02. Oops – Unidentified Flying Abstract (6:10)
03. Mundetango (6:41)
04. One Mile Red/The Ticket (9:52)
05. We Must Have Been Smashed (6:32)
06. Summer Breeze (2:59)
Time – 41:12
DISC THREE
Live at The Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, 2nd April 1975 – Previously unreleased
01. Introduction (0:50)
02. Astral Man (3:08)
03. Recycled (17:56)
04. A Day in the Life of a Preacher (16:23)
05. Show Me the Way (7:27)
06. Marvellous Moses (7:20)
07. It’s All Over (6:22)
08. Good Day (7:17)
Time – 66:38
DISC FOUR
Live at The Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, 2nd April 1975 – Previously unreleased
01. Remember the Future, Part One (18:33)
02. King of Twilight (10:33)
03. 1-2-3-4 (15:51)
04. Remember the Future, Part Two (7:06)
05. Let It Grow (8:42)
06. Woman Trouble/Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley (12:03)
Time – 72:42
Total Time – 4:07:43
MUSICIANS
Roye Albrighton – Guitar, Lead Vocals
Mick Brockett – Lights
Allan “Taff” Freeman – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Ron Howden – Drums, Percussion
Derek “Mo” Moore – Bass, Backing Vocals
~ With:
P. P. Arnold – Backing Vocals
Phil Brown – Bass Tuba
Robert Calvert – Ringmaster
Ron Carthy – 2nd Trumpet
Kenneth Cole – Backing Vocals
Steve Gregory – Tenor Saxophone
Butch Hudson – 1st Trumpet
Chris Mercer – Baritone & Tenor Saxophones
Chris Pyne – Trombone
Stephen Wick – Tuba
Dieter Dierks – Special Effects
Chipping Norton Mandies – Choir (2 & 9)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Esoteric Recordings | Cherry Red Records
Catalogue#: ECLEC 42929
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 27th February 2026
LINKS
Nektar – Website | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Boxset info at Cherry Red Records
