Nucleus Snakehips Etcetera

The 1974 and 1975 releases from British jazz-fusion outfit Nucleus has just been released on the fine BGO Records as a 2 CD set, chock full of liner notes and line-up information. Both of these albums saw Ian Carr and Nuclues taking on a more funk/rock fusion slant, and while there is still a lot of jazzy tones here, the music is more electrified and filled with more grooves than previous offerings.
The presence of electric piano and Moog synthesizer play a huge role on both these albums, courtesy of Gordon Beck, Geoff Castle, and Carr himself. In addition, lots of wah-wah guitar licks from Ken Shaw and Jocelyn Pitchen permeate the mix, as well as throbbing bass lines from Roger Sutton, all of which can be heard from the opening moments of the song "In Procession" from Under the Sun…

Mike Dixon, of the record label Major League Productions (MLP), by his own admission doesn't know much about jazz, but he does know what he likes. This recording - spanning over 100 minutes of a recorded-for-radio Nucleus concert at Britain's Loughborough University in February 1976, and acquired by MLP as a "saved from the skip" job - is a perfect example of Dixon's excellent acumen. Amazingly, the recording's sound has not been impaired one iota despite the thirty year hiatus. Wisely, MLP decided not to cut any of the original playing time and the album is thus the first double CD to be produced by the company. It's a brave move for a small and relatively new record label which hitherto has specialised in prog-rock. On hearing the CD for the first time, the Nucleus enthusiast's high expectations will be more than realised. This is the mid-period band at the top of their game…

This stunning 2 CD set features the 1975 Nucleus album Alleycat and the 1976 compilation Direct Hits. Alleycat sees the British fusion ensemble getting downright funky and rocking, keeping pace quite well with other popular groups of the time such as Miles Davis, Return to Forever, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and the Tony Williams Lifetime. Ian Carr (trumpet/flugelhorn/synthesizer) and his band included on this album Bob Bertles on sax & flute, Ken Shaw on guitar, Geoff Castle on keyboards & Moog, Roger Sutton on bass, and Roger Sellers on drums-together they make a formidable line-up that delivers on all levels.
Direct Hits pulls together songs from various Nucleus albums released between 1970-1974…