Nucleus (and Ian Carr)

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I've always loved this English counterpart to Miles' early Rock dabbling and I *thought* I owned every album up through Out of the Long Dark...

but then I see this thing listed called "Hemispheres"

can anyone elaborate on that album?

[Shadow]

It is two live shows from 3/70 and 2/71 from Europe. I just put it in and the sound quality is very good.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

cool, thanx!

and now I see that I also have Awakening, which came after OotLD

then theres one about a Redhead that I don't have either

[Scrotum Scissor]

Great band, I like their later period albums as well. But We'll Talk About It Later is fabulous.

I never got to hear the Cuneiform archival live release, so I'm a bit curious there...

[mellotron storm]

My favourite live Nucleus is the Live in Bremen release which was a performance that happened a little later(a couple of months) than the later concert featured on Hemispheres. Both are fantastic though. Hemispheres does feature the original lineup.

[mellotron storm]

cool, thanx!

and now I see that I also have Awakening, which came after OotLD

then theres one about a Redhead that I don't have either

I wasn't nearly as impressed with "The Pretty redhead" which is a 50 minute live album which features two completely different concerts and lineups. One from 1971 and the other from 1982. Even Ian Carr in the liner notes mentions that the first lineup was seasoned from constantly playing live but the 1982 lineup was brand new at the time. It's good but with Live In Bremn and Hemispheres out there I wouldn't bother. Just an opinion.

[Poisoned Youth]

I would give the nod to Bremen as well...slightly.

The other live archive not to leave out is "UK Tour '76". Two CDs with extended tracks and quite good if you like the mid period stuff.

[mogrooves]

My favourite live Nucleus is the Live in Bremen release

+1

[Dave (in MA)]

Also very good one is In Flagrante Delicto, another live set, this one from the post-Marshall lineup. Tough to find on CD but Amazon has it on MP3.

[Dave (in MA)]

I was going to mention that I love The Pretty Redhead, but it occurs to me that I usually shut it off after the '71 tracks.

I tend to favor the live albums over the studio ones, save for Belladonna.

[Jay.Dee]

Here is my opinion on all those (early) releases: first three BBC tracks on "Pretty Redhead" (from March 1971) are nothing short of fabulous - the renditions are red hot indeed and rock very hard. 25 minutes of pure blitz in excellent sound quality, which makes the rest of the disc (recorded in 1982) utterly unbearable if you dare continue listening.

"Hemispheres" is culled from live recordings from European tours in 1970 and 1971, also in the original lineup, and presents more jazzy side of the band, with focus on the arrangements and intricate instrumental interplay. Less M.D.'s "Live Evil", more W.R.'s "Live in Tokyo". Great sound quality too, which helps listener savour all its little precious sonic details.

Cuneiform's "Live in Bremen" comes from 1972 and replaces Chris Spedding with Ray Russell. Some fans drop off here claiming that the band had lost their soul and sold themselves to generic jazz-rock soloing. Well, since I sincerely love those (early) jazz-rock "banalities", it is one of their favourite discs, although there is no denying that the focus shifted on the rocky side of the fence. Sound quality is a bit worse, but nothing really to complain about.

Summing up: you need to have them all.

[jkelman]

A review of Hemispheres

Along with:

1. A review of UK Tour '76
2. And an extensive overview covering all original releases available at time of writing (2004) plus The Pretty Redhead and Live in Bremen

Enjoy!

[rcarlberg]

Summing up: you need to have them all.

Sigh. The wife has trouble buying that argument.

[jkelman]

Sigh. The wife has trouble buying that argument.

But it's pretty much true. Sorry!

[Dave (in MA)]

http://www.gonzomultimedia.com/product_details/15873

I wish I knew more about what this is all about. Google isn't helping.

[rcarlberg]

Not due until October. It's not even mentioned on Ian Carr's website.

[Dave (in MA)]

Resurrecting a dormant thread in honor of the Esoteric box.




https://www.allaboutjazz.com/torrid-...ger-farbey.php

I almost wish I didn't own all the material already so I could justify getting it.

[Shadow]

Sigh. The wife has trouble buying that argument.

That's what they make coat hooks in the closet for. She'll eventually stop screaming and come around.

[spacefreak]

Yesterday I was listening to Alleycat. I like that period of the band as well. Some fine grooves to like and very energetic playing...

[Scrotum Scissor]

Alleycat

This and Labyrinth are actually my faves along with We'll Talk. The strength of Alleycat is that intensely forceful sense of funky groove; when played at loud volume this comes close to bringing down the house. It almost equals Weather Report or Passport's Cross-Collateral in sheer charge.

[jcarr73729]

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/...shell-box-set/
Nucleus boxed set by Esoteric

If memory serves me well, the CDs I have were a little hot, with dynamic range compressed.
Hopefully Esoteric have made their usual good job, restored the original dynamics, and a definitive CD collection.

[Steve F.]

I listened to In Flagrante Delicto last night for the first time in ages and ages - maybe since it was new(!!), and I really enjoyed it.

[Jay.Dee]

A year earlier UK Tour '76 (on MLP) is a potent document of their dense mid-70s fusion too.

I hope there'll be some official live release with Allan Holdsworth in the future. The Westfield College, Hampstead '72 tape on YouTube shows this lineup's live potential, even though the sound quality is not that great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAC3BIJ1QZU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOiLA9WYGtE

[Steve F.]

I hope there'll be some official live release with Allan Holdsworth in the future. The Westfield College, Hampstead '74 tape on YouTube shows this lineup's live potential, even though the sound quality is not that great.]

I've never come across a decent sounding show with Holdsworth; my gut tells me that one doesn't exist.

[Trane]

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/torrid-...ger-farbey.php

I almost wish I didn't own all the material already so I could justify getting it.

Same here.... But TBH, unless it was all cardboard 1on1 mini-lps it's no use for me... Especially in that kind of 9on6 business. So I'll passssssss

This and Labyrinth are actually my faves along with We'll Talk. The strength of Alleycat is that intensely forceful sense of funky groove; when played at loud volume this comes close to bringing down the house. It almost equals Weather Report or Passport's Cross-Collateral in sheer charge.

I'd place either Under The Sun or Elastic Rock after Later and Alleycats.

If memory serves me well, the CDs I have were a little hot, with dynamic range compressed.
Hopefully Esoteric have made their usual good job, restored the original dynamics, and a definitive CD collection.

Weren't those BGO 2on2 released before the loudness/remastering craziness?

I listened to In Flagrante Delicto last night for the first time in ages and ages - maybe since it was new(!!), and I really enjoyed it.

Yup, indeed??? still have the vinyl of that one.