In the annals of progressive rock, Nektar certainly has to be one of the most revered bands to ever emerge out of the genre. Originally based in Germany by way of England, these guys never made the same album twice. Their early albums Journey To The Centre Of The Eye and A Tab In The Ocean were concept albums that often featured long, symphonic, psychedelic sounding compositions. Their second US release, Remember The Future (1973) was the album that established them as a force to be reckoned with in North America and it even cracked the Billboard top 20. Originally released on vinyl as two, side long tracks, Remember The Future on CD has more recently gone through a couple of remastering treatments in the 00's. Now the folks over at Its About Music have gotten into the act by reissuing both this album as well as A Tab In The Ocean in two disc special editions.

Armed with a significantly more melodic sound than on previous albums, Remember The Future contains forty five minutes of some of the most compelling prog rock you're ever likely to come across. The first disc features the original album in its entirety, as well as undated live versions of "Remember The Future Part 1 and 2". The studio renditions sound crystal clear and really highlight the dynamic interplay between Royce Albrighton's melodic guitar work and soaring lead vocals and the absolutely gorgeous Hammond organ playing of Allan "Taff" Freeman. Over the course of this two song suite the band alternates back and forth between deeply layered, tight 'n funky grooves and longer improvised passages that range from pastoral to psychedelic in nature. The arrangements are constantly shifting which definitely keeps the listener engaged throughout. Although there's no information on the live renditions of "Remember The Future", the sound, which feels much like a notch above 'bootleg' quality, is quite good and it's interesting to hear how the live versions differ slightly from their studio counterparts. Over to disc two and we have a concert recorded in Brazil in 2007 with the most recent version of the band, which still includes original members Albrighton and drummer Ron Howden, who are now joined by organist Tom Hughes and bassist Randy Dembo. The quartet blazes through versions of back catalogue favorites "A Tab In The Ocean", "Good Day", "Desolation Valley" and "Cast Your Fate" among others. Again, both the sound quality and the performances are quite good here and this second disc of live material offers a nice bonus for die-hard fans.

Remember The Future should be considered mandatory listening, even for the casual progressive rock fan and It's About Music have done a splendid job at coming up with an affordable and great sounding reissue that includes all the bells and whistles. My only complaint and it's a minor one really, is that a two page booklet, with a few photos and scant liner notes from Albrighton, doesn't really do this album justice. Still it's hard to argue with the impressive package they've put together here. If you don't already have Remember The Future or you're just looking to upgrade, then here's your chance.