Nucleus - 1974 - Under The Sun

Nucleus

1974

Under The Sun

01. In Procession (2:54)

02. The Addison Trip (3:58)

03. Pastoral Graffiti (3:33)

04. New Life (7:07)

05. A Taste Of Sarsaparilla (0:44)

06. Theme 1: Sarsaparilla (6:47)

07. Theme 2: Feast Alfresco (6:02)

08. Theme 3: Rites Of Man (10:00)

- Ian Carr / trumpet, flugelhorn

- Bob Bertles / alto & baritone saxophones, flute, bass clarinet

- Gordon Beck / electric piano, percussion

- Geoff Castle / electric piano, synthesizer

- Jocelyn Pitchen / electric & acoustic guitars

- Ken Shaw / guitar

- Roger Sutton / bass

- Bryan Spring / drums, percussion, timpani

With:

- Keiran White / voice (2)

March 74 was probably a very rainy month in London as the artwork sleeve of this album seems to hint at. And this weather really permeated to the music feeling as melancholy is the main characteristic of this album.

After a quick opener, we are driven by a quick tempo Addison Trip with excellent bass work. Then into one much jazzier and somewhat dull Pastoral Graffitti. Typically the kind of 5 AM cool jazz in a jazz club tune to finally close off the premises. New Life is another superb bass-driven track full of great climates and is the highlight of the first side of the vinyl. It is closed off by a short preview/glimpse of what is to come on side 2.

And clearly the second vinyl side of the album is where the beef/meat is. The 23 min+ Under The Sun track divided into three themes. Again the dynamic Sutton (bass)/ Spring (Drums) duo is clearly at the forefront of the track and provide a superb rhythm for all of the soloists to expand themselves a bit in the improv/jam mode, but nothing indulgent. The second theme brings you back to the first two albums and is the apex of the album. Pitchen is pitching in a superb flaming guitar solo. However the third theme being marred by a lengthy drum solo, the album closes off with a little feeling of wanting a bit more soup in your bowl.

I would recommend this Nucleus album to all progheads enjoying jam-style bands (such as Allman Bros or Gratefull Dead- style of improv) but are not keen on jazz sonorities. This album as well as In Flagrante Delicto are much in the same style having a rock rhythm but jazz instruments. So the ideal introduction to jazz feelings/sounds but without having the "boring" (to non-initiated) jazz signatures.

This 1974 release from Ian Carr and his collaborators proves that as far as Nucleus goes, there truly is nothing new under the sun. It's not that this is a bad album - on the contrary, it's a pretty decent jazz-rock workout. It's just that it isn't really doing anything we haven't already heard the group do with a bit more verve and passion on the group's earlier albums. Where a mere four to five years earlier Nucleus had been ahead of the curve when it comes to this sort of material, here they're sat solidly in the middle of the road, with the end result that you probably don't want to go out of your way to obtain this unless you really can't get enough of the band's sound.