Nucleus & Ian Carr: Torrid Zone: The Vertigo Recordings 1970-1975
Author: Andy Robson
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Brian Smith (ts, ss, f) |
Label: |
Esoteric Recording |
Magazine Review Date: |
June/2019 |
Media Format: |
6CD |
Catalogue Number: |
ECLEC 62663 |
RecordDate: |
1969-1974 |
This is a mammoth effort, with all nine Nucleus albums from their Vertigo days squeezed onto a 6CD set, capturing the band in its heyday, but also reflecting what even the most one-eyed of fans will recognise as decidedly weaker material in the later Under The Sun, Snakehips Etcetera and Alley Cat But let's not carp, the sequence of We'll Talk About It Later, and most notably Solar Plexus, Belladonna and Labyrinth, with mentions in despatches for their debut, Elastic Rock, remains a vital record of the joy, vigour and independence of British jazz of the time, a music that transcends lame labels like jazz-rock’. The collection and the notes understandably big up Carr's role as co-founder, but truth-to-tell the early albums relied heavily on the writing (and fresh oboe sound) of Karl Jenkins. But Carr's writing takes off on the epic Solar Plexus, though it's Kenny Wheeler and a pyrotechnic Harry Beckett that take the horn plaudits. Now's not the time to ruminate on how luminaries like Jenkins and Marshall split with Carr, nor why Holdsworth and MacRae stayed only briefly despite being stellar contributors Hopefully the set will also remind listeners of the underrated glories of Labyrinth, not least for Winstone's exultant wordless vox.
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