(Progressive Rock) Obvious - Obvious - 2000, MP3, 320 kbps

Pink Floyd recording engineer Andy Jackson has recently launched a Pink Floyd connected label, Tube Records, which markets exclusively on the internet, under the alter ego JR Hackenbush III. TubeRecords.com will operate both as a label and as an on-line record shop supplying a mix of products, much of which will have links with Pink Floyd. DPRP received two early releases, Andy Jackson's own album Obvious and an album by an anonymous ensemble, who call themselves the Mythical Burrowing Animals.
Andy Jackson was twice nominated for a Grammy for his recording work with Pink Floyd over a twenty year period.
Obvious, in my opinion, is an extrodinarily succesful debut album. It features a variety of styles in seven well produced and carefully arranged compositions, two of which, Angel and Laika, I consider superior pieces of songwriting. Although the sales pitch refers to fans of Pink Floyd, the Floydian influences are not always equally clear. Best noticed is the Gilmouresque guitar play in parts of Flimflam Man and Motherless Child and the first track, Angel has a structure not unlike some Floyd material. But it would be a mistake to judge this album on these references. Obvious has such strenghts that a connection to Pink Floyd is unnecessary in recommending it.
The album features fine vocals of Mark O'Gorman and Carol Gee, and Bryony Shearmur (Laika), the controlled drums of Gary Wallis (Mike & The Mechanics) and, thoughout, a profoundly heavy, vibrating bass. Melodic strings highlight Angel and More Bads with violin. In Angel, the musicians show good interaction of instruments and vocals. This track is a bit melancholic at times, but gains momentum towards the end, all in a clear structure and guitar play which reminds one of Paul Speer (Rockenfield/Speer). The bass driven More Bads captures an entirely different mood with some freaky sounds and spoken lyrics.
Me = mc2 is an agreeable short piece with acoustic guitar and piano and some tongue-in-cheeks lyrics. There's a bit of an INXS sound to this at times. With Flimflam Man echoing drums, majestic synths and filtered vocals combine at first with solid guitar performance to create a floating atmosphere, although the feeling gets nasty towards the end in a mood not unlike Floyd's The Wall. In contrast, Motherless Child has a delicious piece of funk intermezzo. Though not one of the longest track, it is one of the most symphonic. Vocals here are akin to David Bowie, while there's more than a trace of King Crimson in keyboards, while closing guitar play again calls to mind the strings of one David Gilmour on Careful with that Axe, Eugene.
The Bowie similarity is stronger in Wax Into Water, as vocals closely resemble his and songwriting is close to Bowie's later material. It also has that familiar Bowie shift in vocal technique. Again dominant bass, and what sound like backwards effects here, with some smooth sequentary time changes. Last comes, Laika, a nearly ten minute piece which starts as a country-like ballad with vocals and acoustic guitar, than heads in more symphonic directions as it, in an instrumental section, picks up energy. The mesmerizing, relaxed vocals of Bryony Shearmur light up this little gem. There are time and melody changes throughout, and this recording actually seems to capture three songs in one track, but with smooth flows from section to section.
All throughout the album songs are characterized by a distinct clarity interwoven with sound and feedback effects. It's easy to resort to superlatives, but this record is indeed immediately attractive and gave me sheer enjoyment from the first time I heard it up to this day. In these progressive compositions often quiter pieces and more aggressive sections or intermezzos combine to form a whole. Some tracks, notably the last two, seem far longer than they in reality are. Of course it's not perfection. At 43 minutes Obvious runs rather short for a contemporary release. Inclusion of the lyrics in the meager booklet would have been a nice touch, as they form an integral part of these seven songs. But these qualms do not concern the tracks themselves.
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Obvious, in my opinion, is an extrodinarily succesful debut album. It features a variety of styles in seven well produced and carefully arranged compositions, two of which, Angel and Laika, I consider superior pieces of songwriting. Although the sales pitch refers to fans of Pink Floyd, the Floydian influences are not always equally clear. Best noticed is the Gilmouresque guitar play in parts of Flimflam Man and Motherless Child and the first track, Angel has a structure not unlike some Floyd material. But it would be a mistake to judge this album on these references. Obvious has such strenghts that a connection to Pink Floyd is unnecessary in recommending it.
Conclusion: 9- out of 10.
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PINK FLOYD engineer ANDY JACKSON выпустит четвертый альбом этой осенью. Этот, второй по счету, альбом получил на DPRP 9 баллов из 10 возможных. На мой взгляд это явно завышенная оценка, но любителям PF будет интересно в любом случае.

Line-up:
Mark O'Gorman, Carol Gee, Bryony Shearmur - Vocals
Gary Wallis (Mike & The Mechanics) - Drums
Tom Toms - Violin
Andy Jackson did anything else