I should declare right here that although I am a very keen fan of Ian Carr and Nucleus I am not actually professionally involved with them in any way. I merely run an unofficial website dedicated to them which I started because to my amazement there wasn’t one in existence already! So when Mike Dixon, of the record label Major League Productions Ltd (MLP) first contacted me through the website at the beginning of May 2006 about the possibility of releasing a live album of Nucleus material from a concert at Loughborough University on 18th February 1976, I was very excited. He emailed me a couple of minutes of the tape he had acquired. Although it was a ‘saved from the skip’ job, the sound quality of these few seconds was anything but detritus. The tape was actually recorded for a radio broadcast and this is why it sounds so clear and, mercifully, is in glorious stereo. Amazingly, the recording’s sound had not been impaired one iota despite its thirty year hiatus. Indeed I was deeply impressed and begged him not to cut any of the concert which he had been contemplating. Thus it was that this is the first double CD to be produced by MLP.

When I heard the CD in full for the first time my already high expectations were more than realised. This is mid-period Nucleus at the top of their game. In 1974 Ian Carr surrounded himself with another clutch of excellent musicians to record Under the Sun, Snakehips Etcetera, and finally Alleycat which was the last recording for the Vertigo label by the band. UK Tour ’76 is a recording of the tour which promoted Nucleus’ then newly released Alleycat studio album. The first CD kicks off with a rousing version of the title track from Snakehips Etcetera with solos from Castle and Carr. Roger’s Sutton’s “Phaideaux Corner” follows with energetic soloing from Bob Bertles, a short drum break from Sellers – whose playing throughout is deft and vibrant - and some nifty Moog synth work from the ever-inventive Geoff Castle. The final track on disc 1, “Alleycat”, features notably expressive trumpet from Ian Carr and then a standout seven minute solo by guitarist Ken Shaw who is playing on this double album better than he has ever been heard before. .

Some lively sax from Bertles introduces the first track, “Nosegay” on the second disc followed by more electric piano from Castle sounding almost Hancock-esque at times. Next up is “You Can’t Be Sure” with a duet from Carr and Shaw whose guitar soloing segues into the aptly named “Pastoral Graffiti” from the album Under the Sun on which there is some excellent flute work from Bob Bertles. The penultimate track of the album is one of the funkiest tracks to be heard outside of Headhunters territory. Splat is initially dominated by Roger Sutton’s raw, almost violent bass guitar riff, but is continually punctuated by subtle and intelligent ensemble playing by the band. Ken Shaw is also heard again along with Geoff Castle playing alternate fours, whilst all the while Bertles and then Carr are heard soloing, individually and then together. The final track, the Sutton-penned “Alive and Kicking” from the Snakehips Etcetera album, starts with a fretless bass solo from the composer, building up over its six minutes into something of a frenzy after which Bob Bertles takes the mood down several notches with some quiet soprano sax in which even manages to quote the unlikely “It ain’t necessarily so”. More fluid guitar from Shaw whose nimble finger work seemed to progressively warm up during the length of the concert. The track is brought to a close by some mellifluous trumpet from Ian Carr and the concert itself is concluded by the mellifluous voice of the maestro himself introducing the band members and wishing the audience goodnight.

This is a spectacularly good album of material from a hitherto sparsely documented period in this innovative band’s life. The various announcements by Ian Carr and audience applause throughout the album help to preserve both the integrity of the recording and the genuine feel of it as a live concert. It is not an exaggeration to say that this may prove to be the best and most consistent live album yet heard by this band.

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