Nektar are one of progressive rock’s great cult bands — an English quartet who came together in Hamburg in 1969 and, from a home base in Germany, made some of the most adventurous space rock of the 1970s. Built around the fluid guitar and warm voice of Roye Albrighton, their trademark was the album-length concept piece, wrapped in a legendary liquid-light show. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of their finest songs.

The short version

If you only hear a few, make them “Remember the Future”, “A Tab in the Ocean”, “King of Twilight” and “Recycled” — the two-part suite that became a US hit, the beloved side-long title epic, the punchy song Iron Maiden later covered, and their dazzling conceptual masterpiece. The full ranking is below.

Space rock’s great concept band

Nektar formed in Hamburg in 1969, when English guitarist Roye Albrighton fell in with fellow Englishmen Allan ‘Taff’ Freeman (keyboards), Derek ‘Mo’ Moore (bass) and Ron Howden (drums), who were playing the city’s Star Club. Signed to German labels and often mistaken for a German band, they became one of the defining acts of the era’s cosmic, experimental rock, complete with the pioneering light show of unofficial fifth member Mick Brockett. Across a run of 1970s albums — from the conceptual debut Journey to the Centre of the Eye to the acclaimed Remember the Future, Down to Earth and Recycled — they turned side-long suites into something genuinely transporting. These fifteen songs are the best.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing melody, ambition, musicianship and lasting impact. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate.

The essential six

At the very top sits “Remember the Future” (1973), the two-part, album-length suite that broke the band in America. With it: “A Tab in the Ocean” (1972), the hypnotic sixteen-minute title epic; “King of Twilight” (1972), the driving song Iron Maiden later covered; “Recycled” (1975), the intricate, near-continuous concept piece many fans call their masterpiece; “Desolation Valley / Waves” (1972), a soaring highlight of A Tab in the Ocean; and “Astral Man” (1974), the bright, irresistible opener of Down to Earth.

Love Nektar and the German prog scene? The books go deeper →

Reliably great

The next tier is essential too. “Crying in the Dark” (1972) builds from a moody jam into one of their finest passages; “That’s Life” (1974) is a punchy, groove-driven standout; “Burn Out My Eyes” (1971) is an early highlight from their conceptual debut; “Fidgety Queen” (1974) is a joyous slice of the circus-themed Down to Earth; and “Marvellous Moses” (1975) is a Recycled favourite.

Deeper cuts

For the dedicated, these reward repeat listens. “Nelly the Elephant” (1974) is a lumbering, characterful Down to Earth cut; “Show Me the Way” (1974) is a gentle, melodic gem; “It’s All in the Mind” (1971) shows the debut’s spacey ambition; and “The Other Side” (2020), an eighteen-minute title suite, proves the reconstituted band could still think big.

Every song at a glance

All fifteen songs, in chronological order — each linked to the album it comes from, so you can hear it in context.

Where to start

Begin with the three albums most fans consider their peak — Remember the Future (1973), the earlier A Tab in the Ocean (1972) and Recycled (1975). From there, the more song-based Down to Earth (1974) is an easy pleasure, while the conceptual debut Journey to the Centre of the Eye rewards patient, headphone listening.

The players

Nektar were built on the classic quartet of guitarist and singer Roye Albrighton, keyboardist Allan ‘Taff’ Freeman, bassist Derek ‘Mo’ Moore and drummer Ron Howden, with visual artist Mick Brockett as their unofficial fifth member. Albrighton, the band’s frontman and creative heart, died in 2016; Freeman died in 2021 and Howden in 2023, leaving Moore as the last surviving founder. Synth pioneer Larry Fast, later of Peter Gabriel’s band, guested on their mid-1970s records, and Moore has continued to lead a version of Nektar in the United States.

Why they still matter

Nektar helped invent a distinctly cosmic strain of progressive rock, one that fused English melody, German experimentation and full-blown psychedelic spectacle. Championed by admirers from Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris to generations of space-rock and krautrock fans, and standing alongside German-scene peers like Eloy, albums like Remember the Future and Recycled remain touchstones for anyone drawn to prog’s more adventurous, mind-expanding side. Decades on, their best records still sound like a trip worth taking.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: rank their records with our guide to the best Nektar albums, or place them in the bigger picture with the best progressive rock songs of all time.

Find your next read on the bookshelf below →