NEKTAR - MAGIC IS A CHILD 12" LP VInyl

In the hazy, bong-smoke-filled cosmos of 1972, a band of German-English cosmic travelers named Nektar beamed down their second full-length transmission, 'Magic Is a Child.' It wasn't just an album, it was a head trip, a lysergic-fueled odyssey through the far reaches of progressive rock, where synthesizers whispered secrets and guitars soared like spaceships.

Nektar wasn't your average bunch of longhairs. They weren't trying to be the next Beatles or Stones. They were channeling something deeper, something weirder, something... cosmic. Formed in Hamburg in the late '60s, they'd soaked up the krautrock scene, the experimental vibe, the anything-goes ethos. They brought that to England, mixed it with their own brand of spacey psychedelia, and 'Magic Is a Child' was the result.

This wasn't music for the Top 40 crowd. It was music for the heads, the freaks, the ones who'd stay up all night listening to 'Echoes' on repeat. 'Magic Is a Child' was a concept album, a sprawling, 40-minute journey through the mind of a child, from birth to adolescence. It was ambitious, it was audacious, it was... a bit messy.

The album kicks off with 'Poem (To a Child),' a gentle acoustic ballad that sets the scene. But then, things get weird. 'Sunshine Eyes' is a swirling vortex of synthesizers and Mellotron, with Roye Albrighton's guitar soaring above the chaos. It's beautiful, it's unsettling, it's... prog.

From there, we plunge into '1-2-3-4,' a funky, almost Zeppelin-esque rocker that shows Nektar's heavier side. Then, we're back in space with 'A Day in the Life of a Preacher,' a sprawling, 13-minute epic that takes us from a church sermon to a psychedelic freakout. It's ambitious, it's overblown, it's... prog.

Throughout the album, Nektar pushes the boundaries of what rock music could be. They weren't afraid to experiment, to take risks, to go off on tangents. This wasn't music for the faint of heart. It was music for the adventurous, the open-minded, the ones who weren't afraid to get a little weird.

'Magic Is a Child' wasn't a commercial success. It didn't spawn any hit singles, it didn't make Nektar household names. But it did earn them a cult following, a devoted group of fans who appreciated their cosmic vision. It also helped to pave the way for other prog bands, like Yes and Genesis, who would take the genre to even greater heights.

The album was recorded at the legendary Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Oxfordshire, England, with producer John Wood at the helm. Wood had worked with some of the biggest names in prog, including Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull, and he brought his expertise to Nektar's sound. The result was a lush, layered production that captured the band's cosmic energy.

'Magic Is a Child' may not be Nektar's most famous album. That honor probably goes to their 1973 masterpiece, '...Sounds Like This.' But it's a fascinating snapshot of a band in their early years, a band still finding their footing, still pushing the boundaries of what was possible. It's a messy, ambitious, sprawling mess of an album, but it's also a testament to the power of imagination, the thrill of exploration, the sheer joy of making music that's out of this world.

So, if you're ready to take a trip to the far reaches of the cosmos, if you're not afraid to get a little weird, give 'Magic Is a Child' a spin. Just be prepared to have your mind blown.