Artist: Nucleus, Album: Nucleus, Song: Jenny Wake Up

Nucleus were a prog rock band from Toronto.  They were Greg Fitzpatrick, Bob Horne, Hugh Leggat, John Richardson and Danny Taylor.  Fitzpatrick, Leggat, Richardson and Taylor were actually in a previous band called, The Lords of London, during the mid-sixties and had some early pop single success.  However, by the late sixties, the members were yearning to expand their musical tastes and they recruited keyboardist Horne and changed up their sound.  The band started playing their new, free form blend of rock, soul and jazz on the coffee house circuit of Yorkville before heading to New York to record their one and only self titled debut album in 1968.  They toured all over Canada as well as the U.S. and were building a dedicated following despite having most of their songs clocking in between 8 and 11 minutes.  Jenny Wake Up, is a very trippy tune from this release and you can check out my Hilarious House Of Frightenstein tribute on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/38186005).  The band would sign on with Chicago label, Mainstream Records, for this release but by 1970 they were through.  One of the final appearances the band made was at the now legendary, Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival held at Varsity Stadium in 1969.  The concert featured The Doors, John Lennon, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Chicago, Alice Cooper and a long list of other performers.  I've read that Nucleus was actually the backing band for Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent that day.  Leggat, Taylor and Horne would go on to form A Foot In Cold Water ("Make Me Do Anything You Want", "(Isn't Love Unkind) In My Life") shortly after the Nucleus break up.  Thankfully, this Canadian rarity has been remastered and re-released.  You can purchase the album, Nucleus, on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!