by Dave LynchAlthough Nucleus made an acclaimed performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1970, the U.K. proto-fusionists never became particularly popular in the States, with much of their recorded output only available as import releases. In fact, in certain quarters Nucleus is known primarily as a source of musicians who joined the latter-day Soft Machine, itself a group that never moved too far beyond cult status. Composer/keyboardist/reedman Karl Jenkins, drummer John Marshall, bassist Roy Babbington, and guitarist Allan Holdsworth all played with Nucleus at one time or another, and all had moved over to the Soft Machine lineup by the time the Softs (with Mike Ratledge the only original remaining member of the band) issued Bundles in 1975. Nucleus' second album, 1970's We'll Talk About It Later, might be of particular interest to fans of Bundles-era Soft Machine given the presence of "Song for the Bearded Lady," a Jenkins composition that later appeared in altered form on Bundles as "Hazard Profile," a vehicle for one of Holdsworth's most stunningly fleet-fingered solos on record. "Song for the Bearded Lady" kicks off We'll Talk About It Later with a fanfare and funky unison and counterpoint riffing that segue into a spacious groove and Ian Carr trumpet solo echoing the influence of electric Miles from the same time period. Chris Spedding was the band's guitarist here, and one shouldn't expect Holdsworth-style pyrotechnics from him; Spedding was a blues-rocker more than a jazzer and generally took a back seat to the soloing skills of Carr, Jenkins, and New Zealand saxophonist Brian Smith (whose duet with drummer Marshall at the conclusion of "Easter 1916" -- inspired by the Yeats poem about the Irish nationalist uprising in Dublin -- approaches the wildness of some of the era's most incendiary free jazz).... Read More...