This new edition of Nektar’s debut album is great. It includes a newly remastered version of the main album. To that both sides of the “Do You Believe in Magic” single are added. That would be great even if it was all we got. It’s not, though. That’s just the first CD of the set. The second CD includes “The Boston Tapes,” which is an album the band recorded in 1970 that was never released. This is a classy set and well worth having. I should mention that I previously reviewed the main album. For the sake of consistency, I’ve used the track reviews from that review for the actual album proper. The bonus track and second CD track reviews are all new, though.

This instrumental opening section starts atmospheric and rises up from there. It’s psychedelic space rock weirdness that works straight into the next cut.

Coming out of the previous number, this has a build up at the start that’s quite psychedelic. That ends and then proto-prog with psychedelia all over it creates a mellow atmospheric vibe. Distorted vocals are heard in the background early. From there, though, it gets real sung vocals and this continues forward with a sound that’s at once recognizable as Nektar, but also quite laden with psychedelic trappings. The cut shifts and changes from there. It’s an ever changing tapestry of somewhat raw psychedelic progressive rock. Then it drops down to a very mellow section to continue. More changes and alterations ensue from there, and I particularly like a riff driven segment that comes in further down the road. This thing really does have a lot of split second switches, though.

Atmospheric tones open this and they work forward from there. This eventually evolves into a melodic jam that’s classic Nektar. Then it explodes upwards from there with a smoking hot guitar solo. This is a fairly short instrumental that’s quite cool.

Killer psychedelia meets prog opens this thing and builds out from there. This keeps evolving and a cool melodic movement rises out of the droning backdrop after a while. It builds and builds and builds in classic Nektar fashion. That section eventually crescendos and gives way to chaos to end the instrumental piece. Although, it more segues into the next one than really ends.

Here we get lots of weird sound effects and other spacey elements. After the one minute mark some real musical elements start to emerge. But they crescendo and leave the space behind again. It never really resembles any kind of song thing. Instead, it keeps climbing upward and then dropping down in different forms of tasty, spacey weirdness.

A hard rocking tone brings this one in from the spacey atmosphere of the previous cut. They work through for a short time with the chords pounding amidst space music. The cut evolves though in this extended introductions, shifting around. Then it works out to some psychedelically inspired mellow prog music for the vocal section. This is classic Nektar. The group has always been one of the bands who were best at alternating mellow and louder sections and this song is a classic example of that as sedate motifs are punctuated by a return to the hard rocking sounds. It drops away too soon, though.

The musical concepts from the previous piece fade up as this piece starts. They take it through some pretty classic Nektar modes with both vocal performances and musical ones managing to shine.

Here’s one that’s more of an energized hard rocking in the sound that was to become a trademark one for Nektar. It’s got plenty of shifts and turns and just plain works. Some of the riffing on this really makes me think of the Remember the Future album.

This one is very pretty and very sedate. One could say it feels a bit desolate in some ways. But that makes the vocals all the more powerful. That, though, is just the early sections. This works out to some harder rocking sounds as they continue. It’s definitely classic Nektar in the progressions and sounds they build into this beast. This gets crazy later and crescendos to end it.

Melodic, balladic Nektar sounds open this. Then it fires out into a dramatic progressive rock movement for the vocals. They take us into a dramatic journey from there. The fast-paced Nektar shifts and changes return as they continue.

Fast paced, but melodic spacey psychedelic progressive rock is the mode here. It has multiple layers of vocals and works through some cool changes. Nektar is one of the progressive rock bands that can soar at times and groove at others and they do both in this number.

The psychedelic elements dominate as this starts off, but when singing about “space at time,” that seems appropriate. They work it out to some more of that prog groove element.

There’s a disjointed, but very tasty kind of riff that opens this. They build out from there. Then the vocals come over a hard rocking motif. Nektar’s trademark form of bursts of music as accents is all over this section. They also show off some great neo-classical jamming at times. As always, numerous changes ensue. The jam later in the track is incredibly powerful and so trademark of Nektar. This cut does such an awesome job of pulling the whole thing to satisfying conclusion. Although, at the end of a riff driven section, the whole thing gets twisted by effects and they end it in what feels like space.

This is a single version. It has a great melodic rock sound to it. It gets harder rock near the end of the track.

This guitar oriented rocker was the flip side of the “Do You Believe in Magic?” single. It’s got some killer psychedelic rock angles at play.

This comes in tentatively with some guitar gradually building upward. The vocals join, and the track continues to grow. It eventually explodes out into more typical Nektar territory. The contrast between mellower and more rocking sounds is great. This has hints of Beatles-like pop rock and also folk rock. Yet, it has plenty of proto-prog in the mix, too.

I really like this version of the song. It has so much classic Nektar sound. Yet, there are still hints of that Beatles-like thing. I definitely like this more than the single version of the track.

While a lot of this is more melodic, it turns positively on fire with a hard rocking jam later. This is quintessential Nektar in so many ways. It’s definitely what I would consider a highlight of the set – both discs.

This has some solid hooks and a classic Nektar sound, if a bit more guitar rock oriented then some of the rest. It has a good balance between mellower and more rocking.

More mainstream rocking, this is solid, but not really a standout. There is a cool psychedelic rock break later, though.

This has a largely mellow approach. It’s unmistakable as Nektar. It’s not a standout track, though.

A cover song, this reminds me of something Vanilla Fudge might have done. Mind you, it’s still trademark Nektar in sound.

I like this one quite a bit. It has some real hard rock sound, but also some trademark Nektar hooks.