Album of the Day

The Dream Nebula (The Best of 1971-1975), by Nektar (1998): As a rule, I'm not a fan of greatest hits collections. If you're really interested in the band, buy some albums and explore beyond the PR. But, sometimes they are useful as introductions to unfamiliar artists. I was vaguely aware of Nektar, a collection of British ex-pats who made it big in the German space-rock scene, but had never actually heard any of their stuff when I was on a CD shopping spree in New Orleans a couple of years ago (the Virgin Megastore and Tower Records just off the French Quarter are loaded with prog). I decided that this set would be a good introduction, and I think it is. I was much more impressed by Nektar than my other limited space-rock exposures (Hawkwind and Ozric Tentacles, mostly). Having said that, I haven't followed up on my mantra and actually bought any of their studio albums. So many bands, so little time . . .