Nektar: Journey to the Centre of the Eye (1971) Review | A Journey Through the Honeycombs of the Mind
Kronomyth 1.0: Nectar of the gods.
Captain Mebyl Spaetzman, eyestronaut of the open mind, brings you a message of love and a warning that the wars of this world will devour your peace and send you screaming through time to wither under the unblinking gaze of the all-seeing eye. I have traveled through the hawkwind-scorched plains of the apocalypse where the only human shapes were shadows, found my only consolation in the warm embrace of the van der graaf generator, and my tears have become as nektar. Raise a glass then to the nine lifeless daughters of the sun, the last now left defiled by rapacious men, and trade the universe for the innerverse, where space and time are simply specks in the all-seeing eye’s reflection of infinite possibilities. Dream the dream of a being dreamed, materializing and dematerializing, remembering to forget, far beyond the reach of men but locked inside the fate of man. Ringing guitars, Mellotrons and sonic debris swirl around you in a kaleidoscope of consciousness. Suddenly there is no I, only the eye, telling you that to exist is to be seen and nothing more. There is no war where there is always war. There is no hate where there is always hate. There is no death where there is always death. The inescapable truth is there is no escape, only retreat into the mind, a journey into the center of the eye.
The Product
A1. Prelude (1:27)
A2. Astronaut’s Nightmare (6:22)
A3. Countenance (3:35)
A4. Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun (2:41)
A5. Warp Oversight (4:28)
A6. The Dream Nebula (Part One) (2:14)
B1. The Dream Nebula (Part Two) (2:25)
B2. It’s All in the Mind (3:22)
B3. Burn Out My Eyes (7:48)
B4. Void of Vision (2:01)
B5. Pupil of the Eye (2:46)
B6. Look Inside Yourself (0:53)
B7. Death of the Mind (2:52)
All titles written and arranged by Nektar.
2CD reissue bonus tracks
A14. Do You Believe in Magic?
A15. 1-2-3-4
The Boston Tapes 1970
B1. New Day Dawning
B2. Do You Believe in Magic?
B3. Candlelight
B4. Good Day
B5. The Life I’ve Been Leading
B6. Where Did You Go?
B7. Sealed with a Kiss
B8. Our Love Will Last Forever
The Players
Roye Allbrighton (guitar & vocals), Mick Brockett (liquid lights), Allan “Taff” Freeman (melotron, pianos, organ, vocals), Ron Howden (drums & percussion), Derek “Mo” Moore (melotron, bass guitar & vocals), Keith Walters (static slides). Produced by D. Dierks, P. Hauke, Nektar; engineered by D. Dierks.
The Pictures
Cover and poster design and photography by Ernst Steingässer Fotos.
The Plastic
Released on elpee in November 1971 in Germany (Bellaphon/Bacillus, BAC 2001) with gatefold cover.
- Re-issued on compact disc on June 21, 2006 in Japan (Eclectic, ONECD-1203).
- Re-issued on expanded compact disc in 2004 (Dream Nebula, DNE 1 203) with two bonus tracks + 5.1 Surround Remix.
- Re-issued on expanded 2CD in 2025 in the EU (Esoteric, ECLEC22891) with 10 bonus tracks.
