I took a chance on this album, not having heard of the artist before. Not for the first time, though, I've found proof that there were so many great obscure bands around the turn of the 1970s just waiting to be rediscovered. This band are effectively a duo backed on some tracks by a drummer. Andy Clark is a multi-instrumentalist with a particularly imaginative line in sax playing. Mick Hutchinson was previously in John's Children with Marc Bolan and does a nifty line in guitar playing.
There are so many abrupt twists in the music here that you don't know what's coming next. The brilliant 'Man's Best Friend' (it's a gun, according to the ironic lyric) begins with a startling Spanish guitar intro before fuzzed up electric guitar and drums bludgeon their way in. 'Mix Elixir' is another track on which they change the arrangement completely mid-track. It starts as a breathy vocal backed by piano and then launches into something apparently unrelated. 'Oriented' is a marvellous instrumental, as exotic as the title suggests. I should say that although there's a lot of experimentation going on, the tracks are well-crafted and accessible. Only the 'Disorientation' tracks are far out avant garde. More great talent doomed to public indifference? Here's your chance to rectify it.
1 Man's Best Friend Clark, Hutchinson 5:50
2 Love Is the Light Clark, Hutchinson 5:57
3 The Light Burns On Clark, Hutchinson 2:35
4 Come Up Here Clark, Hutchinson 2:58
5 Disorientated (Pt. 1) Clark, Hutchinson 1:50
6 Boat in the Morning Mist Clark, Hutchinson 4:37
7 Oriented Clark, Hutchinson 1:46
8 First Reminder Clark, Hutchinson 5:18
9 Mix Elixer Clark, Hutchinson 3:00
10 Poison Clark, Hutchinson 4:14
11 Dirorientated [Pt. 2 as Disorientated Pt. 1] Clark, Hutchinson 1:21
Releases
Year
Type
Label
Catalog #
2005 CD Repertoire 1069
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