Genre: progressive
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title:  Down To Earth
Company: Passport
Catalog: PPSD-98005
Year: 1974
Country/State: UK/Germany
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: gatefold sleeve
Available: 3
Catalog ID: 6082
Price: $9.00

I've owned this album since the mid-1970s, though I probably haven't listened to it for 15 years. That said, I was watching something on cable television that featured a song I really liked, though not enough to track it down. The very next day I was looking at a book on Krautrock and decided to pull out some of my German albums. The first one I put on the turntable was "Down To Earth". The minute I put it on I recognized the song I'd heard the previous evening - 'Astral Man'. Strange to say the least ...

Produced by Peter Hauke and the band, 1974's "Down To Earth" was the group's fifth studio set and marked a creative turning point for the band. Although a pseudo-concept piece built around a circus theme (don't ask me what the plotline was about ... life as a cosmic circus?), the album was surprisingly mainstream and commercial. Such an abrupt change in musical direction probably cost the band the bulk of their longstanding fan base, while the collection's new found accessibility (hard to imagine saying that in a Nektar review) didn't do much to generate mega sales. For what its worth, I think the album was pretty killer. Backed by an all star cast including singer P.P. Arnold, Hawkwind's Bob Calvert (serving as ringmaster complete with a horrible German accent) and sax player Chris Mercer, tracks such as 'Astral Man', 'Early Morning Clown' and 'Show Me the Way' were catchy, highly melodic and radio ready. Think that was hard to believe? Okay, the instrumental 'Nelly the Elephant', 'Fidgety Queen' and 'Oh Willy' were actually funky !!! No bullsh*t. F-U-N-K-Y. If they'd given it a chance older fans would've found quite a bit to like, including 'That's Life' which featured a wonderful mix of progressive and rock moves and some sterling bass moves from Derek Moore. Definitely a highpoint in the group's extensive discography.    

- Opening up with what sounded like circus crowd sound effects (and featured throughout the album), 'Astral Man' showcased Derek Moore's innovative bass and proved a surprisingly commercial slice of pop-rock. This one would not have sounded bad on top-40 radio stations. rating: *** stars
- Yeah, Bob Calvert's Teutonic-favored spoken word segments didn't seem to have much to do with the story, but if anything, the instrumental 'Nelly the Elephant' was even more pop-oriented, with a great melody and some tasteful synthesizers from Allan Freeman. rating: ** stars
- With a beguiling melody, 'Early Morning Clown' was easily one of the prettiest songs they ever wrote, The song also featured a fantastic Roye Albrighton lead guitar segment. Shame it wasn't longer. rating:**** stars
- Powered by some great fuzz bass and the band's frequently overlooked skills in the harmony vocal department, 'That's Life' offered up a wonderful mix of commercial and more progressive moves (Moore's performance was breathtaking). Overlooking Calvert's irritating spoken word segment this was another album highlight. rating:**** stars
- Opening up with some nice Albrighton slide guitar and a funky horn section, Fidgety Queen' was a totally unexpected slice of funk ... You wouldn't have though an Anglo-German progressive unit could pull something like this off, but they somehow managed to do it. rating:**** stars
- 'Oh Willy' found the band diving headlong into conventional hard rock ... By all intents it should have been a total creative disaster, but to be honest it wasn't half bad. Once again Albrighton turned in some nice guitar runs and the song's abrupt changes in direction (about half way through it morphed into a pretty, bluesy instrumental), before returning to it's initial rock orientation gave it some additional depth. rating:*** stars
- Showcasing Albrighton's frequently overlooked acoustic guitar chops, 'Little Boy' was another pretty ballad that had commercial potential. rating: *** stars
- To my ears 'Show Me the Way' was the album's most progressive oriented effort. Not exactly progressive in the way their earlier albums were, but still more elaborate than the rest of the album's pop orientation. The track also featured P.P. Arnold sharing vocals with Albrighton. rating: ** stars
- There simply wasn't much to say about the closing instrumental 'Finale'. It was over in a flash ... rating: ** stars

The album was tapped for a pair of singles in the UK

- 1974's 'Fidgety Queen' b/w 'Little Boy' (United Artists catalog number UP 35706)
- 1974's 'Astral Man' b/w 'Nelly The Elephant' (United Artists catalog number UP 35853)
Way too commercial for long time fans, yet too progressive for pop fans ... no way for these guys to win in the court of commercial sales.

"Down To Earth" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Astral Man (Nektar) - 3:07
2.) Nelly the Elephant (instrumental) (Nektar) - 5:02
3.) Early Morning Clown (Nektar) - 3:21
4.) That's Life (Nektar) - 6:49

(side 2)
1.) Fidgety Queen (Nektar) - 4:04
2.) Oh Willy (Nektar) - 4:00
3.) Little Boy (Nektar) - 3:03
4.) Show Me the Way (Nektar) - 5:55
5.) Finale (instrumental) (Nektar) - 1:36