…Sounds Like This by Nektar

It’s 1973 and Nektar are in full creative flow. After releasing visionary albums like “Journey to the Centre of the Eye” and “A Tab in the Ocean”, they decide to change course. Instead of spending hours in the studio they want to capture their true essence: live energy.  So, in just three days at Dieter Dierks’ studios, an album is born that stands out sharply from their discography. No long symphonic suites and the dreamy atmospheres typical of classic prog.  Here we’re faced with pure, simple psychedelic hard-prog. The sound is raw, distorted, with Roye Albrighton’s biting guitar and Allan “Taff” Freeman’s Hammond organ in the spotlight. A record built around jamming, where songs turn into long, blazing improvisations.

Unlike their earlier and later works, “…Sounds Like This” isn’t a concept album with a plot or central theme. The real “concept” is purely musical, philosophical and practical: to show what Nektar actually sounded like live. Up to that point, fans knew them for special effects and layered studio sounds. With this album, the message was unmistakable: “This is our real sound, no tricks” (hence the title “…Sounds Like This”).

The band had built up quite a few songs written between 1970 and 1972 that they always played in concert, but that had never been included on the previous concept albums. The idea was to record all this scattered material to “free the mind” and start over with new suites.

Rejecting the manic perfection of classic prog, Nektar chose improvisation. Once in the studio, they recorded everything live in just three days, accepting imperfections as an integral part of the record. An album that captures the soul of rock, live energy, and the urge to experiment.

The title and cover perfectly capture the project’s spontaneous, psychedelic spirit.  “Sounds Like This” (“It sounds like this”) is a cheeky answer to those who asked what the band sounded like live, without all the special effects of the earlier records. 

The cover, created by German illustrator Helmut Wenske, is a visionary, sci-fi work with vivid colors and surreal details. Wenske, famous for his airbrush paintings influenced by psychedelic substances, completed this masterpiece in a single night!

My copy is the MICR018 version, a reissue that faithfully restores the original tracklist of the 1973 double LP on colored vinyl and even preserves the effects of the historic mixing issues of the original master.

“Good Day” is a classic, driving hard-rock track with a touch of progressive. Roye Albrighton makes himself heard with energetic vocals and a sharp riff that grabs you right away. Allan “Taff” Freeman’s Hammond organ lays down the rhythmic bed, while Derek “Mo” Moore’s bass locks in a solid groove from the start.

“New Day Dawning” is a syncopated heavy-prog track, a real gem for the rhythm section. Drummer Ron Howden shows off incredible technique with constant, complex time changes, creating a tight, engaging dialogue with Moore’s incisive bass lines. Albrighton then tops it off with biting solos that bring out the song’s “heavy” soul.

“What Ya Gonna Do?” is a proto-punk, early-’70s garage-rock style piece.  The band has a raw, direct energy you feel immediately. Freeman sets aside his usual symphonic arrangements for a more percussive, rough approach on piano and keys. Albrighton’s voice, instead, turns gritty and full of expression.

“1-2-3-4” is a track that blends improvised jam rock and hypnotic space rock.  It’s a true anthem to the band’s teamwork. Albrighton has fun experimenting with the talk-box, creating alien effects with the guitar. Howden and Moore, meanwhile, keep a very long, energetic funky-rock rhythmic base, over which Freeman can roam with spacey, freewheeling keyboard solos.

“Do You Believe in Magic?” is a melodic psychedelic-rock track, a more dreamy cut that highlights the vocal interplay between Albrighton and Moore. Freeman adds a suspended, dreamy atmosphere with his Mellotron, creating a nice contrast with the energy of the rest of the record.

“Cast Your Fate” is an atmospheric hard-prog piece. Moore and Howden open the track with a dark, mysterious mood, while Albrighton comes in with a distorted but controlled guitar, creating the perfect backdrop for Freeman’s organ, which then leads the transition into the next track.

“A Day in the Life of a Preacher” is a suite split into three parts (Preacher, Squeeze and Mr. H) that swings between psychedelic blues and hard prog, the album’s masterpiece. In the Preacher section, Albrighton delivers one of his most intense and expressive vocal performances. In Squeeze, Freeman cuts loose with a distorted, powerful Hammond solo. The grand finale sees Howden giving it everything on drums, pushing the band into a swirling explosion of sound.

“Wings” is a straight, streetwise classic-rock track. It’s a punchy, more commercial piece, meant to ease the tension of the longer tracks. Guitar and bass run in unison along a linear structure, while Howden keeps a solid, straight beat, without too many progressive frills.

“Odyssey” is an eclectic instrumental krautrock track, divided into three parts: Ron’s On, Never Never Never and Da-Da-Dum. As the title of the first part suggests, this gigantic suite is Ron Howden’s stage, as he launches into solos and polyrhythms, leading his bandmates into territory close to German cosmic psychedelia. Moore’s distorted bass and Freeman’s noisy keyboard incursions create an alienating, monumental finale.

This album is Nektar’s most energetic and visceral experiment, a real leap into rawer rock compared to their symphonic, structured early-’70s progressive rock.  It’s a truly grand fusion of musical styles!  It moves from Hard Prog and Heavy Progressive, with sharp, distorted guitar riffs, a powerful rhythm section and an aggressive Hammond organ, strongly recalling the sound of proto-metal or hard-rock bands of the time like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep or Led Zeppelin.  And then there’s Psychedelic Rock and Space Rock, with strong late-’60s psychedelia influences, heavy use of guitar effects (like talk-box and wah-wah), dreamy atmospheres that suddenly explode, and instrumental rides that recall early Pink Floyd.  Nor are Krautrock and Jam Rock missing, since Nektar formed and made their name in Germany and absorbed the influence of the German experimental scene. 

The album is built on very long studio improvisations (jams), free structures and hypnotic, repetitive rhythms that leave room for each musician’s flair.  The sound is deliberately raw and dry and without overdubs, a real document of how the band sounded live. In short, an album that kicks ass!

My Version

Label: Reissued Sounds – MICR018, Cherry Red – MICR018, Reissued Sounds – MICR018-AT
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Clear Splatter
Country: Austria
Released: 14 Mar 2025

Tracklist

A1        Good Day    6:47
A2        New Day Dawning    5:04
A3        What Ya Gonna Do?    5:25
B1        1-2-3-4    12:47
B2        Do You Believe In Magic?    7:19
C1        Cast Your Fate    5:45
C2        A Day In The Life Of A Preacher (Preacher) (Squeeze) (Mr. H)    13:03
D1        Wings    3:48
D2        Odyssee (Ron's On) (Never, Never, Never) (Da Da Dum)    14:31

LineUp

Bass, Vocals – Derek "Mo" Moore
Drums, Percussion – Ron Howden
Keyboards, Vocals – Allan "Taff" Freeman
Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals – Roye Albrighton
 

Listening link on the main streaming platforms at the following links:

Spotify: Listen to the official and fully remastered version of the album on Spotify - Nektar (...Sounds Like This).

Note: All links to the musicians’ works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists"