IAN CARR'S NUCLEUS FEATURING ALLAN HOLDSWORTH / LIVE IN 1972, 1980 (2CDR)

DISC 1
Recorded Live at Westfield College, London, UK, June 27, 1972
Audience recording *** 70 min
Ian Carr - trumpet, flugelhorn
Allan Holdsworth - guitar
Brian Smith - saxophone, flute, clarinet
Dave MacRea - electric piano
Roger Sutton - bass
Clive Thacker - drums
1. BELLADONNA
2.OASIS
3. MAYDAY
4. SUMMER RAIN
5. SONG OFR THE BEARDED LADY - fade out
6. TORRID ZONE

DISC 2
Recorded Live at Bull's Head Club, Barnes, South West London, UK, November 19, 1972
VG-Soundboard Recording ** 22 min
Ian Carr - trumpet, flugelhorn
Allan Holdsworth - guitar
Brian Smith - saxophone, flute, clarinet
Dave MacRea - electric piano
Roy Babbington - bass
Clive Thacker - drums
Trevor Tomkins - percussion
1. BELLADONNA
2. MAYDAY
3. SUSPENSION

Recorded Live at Jazz In Britain, BBC Studio, London, UK, March 17, 1980
EX-Soundboard Recording ** 26 min
Ian Carr - trumpet, flugelhorn
Allan Holdsworth - guitar
Brian Smith - saxophone, flute, clarinet
Guy Barker - trumpet, flugelhorn
Geoff Castle - keyboards
Tim Whitehead - saxophone, flute, clarinet
Derek Wadsworth - trombone
Chucho Merchan - bass
Nic France - drums
Chris Fletcher - percussion

4. CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BLUES Part 1
5. CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BLUES Part 2
6. SIDEWALK

The Necromancer series, which reissues rare titles from handmade labels by collectors for collectors that were only distributed in very limited quantities, using officially acquired masters, now features Headless Hawk, one of the top jazz collector labels.

This is a live compilation of Nucleus, a band as important as Soft Machine in British jazz-rock, led by Ian Carr. The highlight is the presence of Alan Holdsworth. Nucleus and Soft Machine have similar members, and Alan Holdsworth is no exception, having been a member of both bands. Holdsworth was in high demand in the 70s jazz-rock scene, being used everywhere, and he is featured quite prominently here, with long solo parts throughout. The June 1972 recording is an audience recording, the November recording is a soundboard recording but has a lot of hiss noise, and the 1980 recording is a high-quality soundboard recording. Except for the 1980 recording, it's not for beginners, but then again, this band wasn't really for beginners in the first place.