|
BLEED
Obscured By Clouds are a three piece from Portland, USA.
According to their website, they play a mixture of original tracks and cover versions live, the latter derived from a diverse selection of big names from the sixties and seventies. They are William Weikart on vocals and guitar, Ray Woods on Mellotron and keyboards, and Roger Feibel on percussion.
The cover of 'Bleed' proclaims that the album was recorded "Live in the Studio" and that, together with Weikart's use of acoustic guitar throughout, gives the whole album the feel of an unplugged set, as
popularised by Clapton some years ago. The album is both opened and closed by 'Bleed', the only original track on the album.
It is based around a mournful, repeating guitar figure which, although very listenable, fails to lodge in my memory. I really wish they'd included a couple of other original tracks, because I don't want to judge their own efforts on just the one song (and I'm intrigued by titles like 'In The Wake Of My Gliding' and 'Relics In Empathic Symphony'). However, this track doesn't really move me one way or the other.
Of the other eight tracks, six are Pink Floyd covers, one is a Doors song, and one is a Zep track. The Doors song is
'Crystal Ship', and a very fine version of the song it is too. Eschewing the keyboard-led style of the original, OBC use acoustic guitar and tom-toms to create a very atmospheric version of the song. Weikart's voice suits it very well, and the result is something at once both recognisable and original.
As a long time Zep fan, I tend to approach most covers of their songs with trepidation, simply because Plant's voice is pretty unique - often copied, never equalled. But some songs can be covered, and OBC have
picked one with 'That's The Way'. This is a solid, competent cover which I enjoyed (even if Weikart noticeably stretches for the high notes), and makes me think they could do a good job of a couple of others -
say 'Black Country Woman' or 'Gallows Pole'?
The rest of the tracks on the album are Floyd songs; 'Pigs On The Wing' stays fairly faithful to the original, whereas on 'Breathe', OBC substitute acoustic guitar for the steel guitar on the original.
This works very nicely, with the live feel of OBC's version contrasting nicely with the studio techno-wizardry (70s style) of the original. It's also worth saying that since there are probably more obvious candidates on 'DSOM' for the OBC treatment ('Brain Damage', for example), doing 'Breathe' was a brave choice that pays off. Weikart's vocals on 'Julia Dream' are terrific - controlled, deep and powerful, and very evocative. 'Fearless', 'Cirrus Minor' and 'Cymbaline' complete the Floyd covers.
As I suggested at the beginning, anyone who likes the unplugged style will probably like this album, even if they are not familiar with the tracks.
Weikart's voice is a strength of the band, as I indicated above; deeper than most conventional rock singers, it is pleasantly rich on the ear. Using percussion (tom-toms, I noticed, mostly) is an unusual feature that fits the style well. The keyboards seem a little under used (except on 'Cirrus Minor'), but that does mean that the album keeps a very homogenous feel, since prominent keyboards would be inappropriate on some tracks. Overall, this is a nice little album.
Eddie 7th May 2000
|
