Here Come The Nice: The Immediate Anthology

A bit dated but quite charming in it's way. I wasn't much of a fan of the Nice in the 60's. I must have listened to them when they appeared on Saturday Club, John Peel's Top Gear and tracks on Pete Drummond's Saturday programme which I can't remember the name of. Probably they were too classical for me in those days as a teenager but that all changed with tastes in the classics and jazz rock. This improves with repeated listening, some tracks remind me of early Floyd and later Zombies. An essential part of one's Progressive collection and interesting to hear prior to Emerson Lake & Palmer - indeed there are some tracks which remind you of a couple of songs from ELP.

Fantastic. 'Hang on to a Dream' My favourite all time song. A good purchase A good couple of hours jumping around the house singing at the top of my voice! A good quality recording which contains so many of their songs .

Stunning album, truly original musicians

OK

Maybe I'm a bit bias on this as I saw the band, back in the day and I love the track America. Still hear this track on youtube and make up your own mind on what you like.

thanks

This three CD set is an absolute must for anyone interested in the music of the nineteen sixties. It is difficult to understand that there was an awful lot more to music in the 1960's than the West Coast rock which dominated the latter part of the decade.Some of that music re-emerged with the new Van Morrison album of May 2002 with it's early sixties r'n'b styles evocative of the music that the Beatles, Stones and Them were listening to and playing and the jazz of the period. The Nice were part of a trend that came to be known as Progressive in Britain which grew out of the growing number of musicians who were influenced by a wider musical heritage. If Fairport Convention were the progressive side of folk music then the Nice were the progressive side of classical - long before Yes got the idea.The music on the CDs is not all of the legacy of the Nice. Other recordings for other labels still exist but some of the most powerful compositions and performances of the Nice are contained here on these three discs. There are some novelties to be sure but in the main each one is packed with excellent songs, playing and virtuosity. The Nice were a band with an awesome stage act not just because of Emerson's dagger throwing antics. Only Steve Winwood could coax better sound from a Hammond organ.Standout tracks for me are the incredible 'Rondo' especially the live version from Newcastle upon Tyne. A crowd favourite this was a regular at the Mecca in Sunderland well into the early 1970s; and the spectaculr live version of 'America' at the same venue.Emerson Lake and Palmer, and the much inferior Atomic Rooster tended to obscure the music of the Nice as the 1970s eclipsed much of the sixties music but as the passage of time allows for greater scope for investigation their seminal work in the progressive area is at long last being recognised and given the credit it deserves.This is an awesome collection which certainly bridges (sorry about the pun)the worlds of classical and rock in a way that no other band has done either before or since. It certainly is a clear signal to other labels to dig out those other Nice tracks out from the vaults to perhaps give audiences access to a fuller recording of the 'Five Bridges' for example.Two thumbs up

You can always get this box set a lot cheaper on the auction site. I had a pickwick LP of The Nice as a kid with all the hits on it. I love British psychedelia and Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack is my Whiter Shade Of Pale. What a fantastic record! One of those that stops you in your tracks. It was keyboards not guitars (Jimi withstanding) that made the psychedelic sound and Keith Emerson was right up there with Richard Wright. I love the way the notes drip like a Dali clock on Cry of Eugene and the way he paints the sun's rays on Dawn. Great stuff that is possibly overlooked because of future ELP excesses.