Nice – THE NICE***

Azrael Revisited/Hang On To A Dream/Diary Of An Empty Day/For Example/Rondo 69/She Belongs To Me

The self titled third album from the progressive group The Nice heralded their commercial, but not necessarily critical, breakthrough. Their sound was dominated by the keyboard skills of Keith Emerson. (UK:3)

“Consistent, but significantly off the pace of their previous two. Its still keyboard dominated prog, by now sounding noticeably similar to what ELP would eventually sound like, but with an overall harder edge to the material. Unfortunately, the longer tracks are inconsistent, and the album as a whole doesn't have much period flavour.” “A disappointing step down from Ars Longa Vita Brevis, which I really liked. This one just doesn't seem to work overall. Occasional moments of glory aren't enough to hide the fact that most of the time it just doesn't go anywhere.”

“While not a great album, Nice has some good moments. The aesthetic the band pursued from 1968 on combined jazz, classical, and blues, mainly from the compositional magpie Keith Emerson. This album has a stopgap feel to it, mostly covers (both rock and classical) and nothing truly original, which makes this album more jazz than rock. You can feel Emerson straining at the leash here.”

“The Nice at their best. I still get a tingle when I hear Keith Emerson piano intro on the first track. There is a very fine jazz/choral arrangement of Tim Hardin’s Hang Onto A Dream and though Diary Of An Empty Day is lifted from a classical piece, it all fits and works rather well with the lyrics.”

“Their album tracks demonstrated a depth of musicianship well beyond the single theme stage stuff, and nowhere more than on this album. Azrael revisited could almost have been early Genesis, whilst For Example has to be the most novel and multi-textured variation on the blues that I have ever heard. So in addition to enjoying the instant gratification of the live tracks, try the studio material - as with all highly structured and textured music it takes a few listens for it to grow on you.”

“Every track a gem. Masters of jazz-prog rock. This is easily Nice's best album, Rondo is a most exciting organ led live track, second only to She Belongs To Me. If you only buy one Nice album, this is the one to get - no argument.”