''Journey to the Centre of the Eye'' is the debut album from English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band

Nektar Nektar (German for ''nectar'') is an English progressive rock band formed in Hamburg, West Germany in 1969, by guitarist and lead vocalist Roye Albrighton, keyboardist Allan "Taff" Freemon, bassist Derek "Mo" Moore, and drummer Ron Howden. H ...

that came out in November 1971. Though formally divided into 13 tracks, the entire album consists of a single continuous piece of music, with some musical themes which are repeated throughout the work. Because of its narrative nature, it has been called a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

and/or dense concept album. The story follows an astronaut who, while on a voyage to Saturn, encounters aliens who take him to their galaxy, where he is suffused with knowledge and wisdom. It is usually interpreted as a commentary on the

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's retrospective review was a rave, avowing that "Throughout Journey's 13 cuts, Nektar introduced their own sort of instrumental surrealism that radiated from both the vocals and from the intermingling of the haphazard drum and string work." They gave unqualified praise to both the compositions and the performances of each of the individual members.

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Nektar.

2013 reissue

Double CD reissue on Purple Pyramid Records. CD one is the original album. The bonus CD two includes part of a live 1971 show from Germany, where the band play the entire album in order. Additional songs from this "Official Bootleg" show are included on the 2013 reissues of ''

A Tab in the Ocean ''A Tab in the Ocean'' is the second album from German-based English progressive rock band Nektar. English heavy metal band Iron Maiden covered the song "King of Twilight", also mixing in parts of "Crying in the Dark" creating somewhat of a me ...

'' and '' ...Sounds Like This''.

Personnel

*Roye Albrighton - guitars, vocals *Mick Brockett - liquid lights *Allan "Taff" Freeman - Mellotron, pianos, organ, vocals *Ron Howden - drums, percussion *Derek "Mo" Moore - Mellotron, bass, vocals *Keith Walters - static slides ;Additional personnel *

Dieter Dierks Dieter Dierks (born 9 February 1943) is a German record producer, sound engineer, music publisher, studio owner and musician. He became well known as producer of the rock band Scorpions who were signed to him between 1975 and 1988. Before that ...

- additional piano ;Production *Produced by Nektar, Dieter Dierks & Peter Hauke *Engineered by Dieter Dierks

References

External links

''Journey to the Centre of the Eye'' at TheNektarProject.com
{{Authority control Nektar albums 1971 debut albums Rock operas Concept albums