Distance Between Us

NURSE WITH WOUNDの'79年作『CHANCE MEETING ON A DISSECTING TABLE OF A SEWING MACHINE AND AN UMVRELLA』に添付された"影響を与えたアーティスト"リストにも挙げられ、00年代には海外で"THE ENIDのリーダーRobert John Godfreyの変名"との噂も流れた、今だ謎の英国出身(米国出身説も有)のマルチ・ミュージシャンDon Bradshawによるソロ・プロジェクト、自主レーベルの英Distanceから発表された'72年唯一作が2枚組/デジスリーブ仕様で'22年再発!
オリジナルも2枚組/コレクター垂涎のBritish Rock屈指の超ギガ・レア盤の1つ、オリジナルではアナログ盤丸々1枚を費やした一大タイトル組曲を筆頭に、mellotronによるstringサウンドとp/organを駆使しての本格的なクラシカル/シンフォニック・アレンジ、perによる即興演奏とコラージュ/音響変調等々各種スタジオ・ギミックが組み合わさり繰り広げられる壮大にして錯乱した音世界が圧巻。ジャケットのその怪しい風貌を含め、先の噂も頷ける"ClassicなArthur Brown"とも称すべき涅槃の世界を音像化した狂気の逸品です!!

The music on this bizarre double album from 1972 is somewhere between gothic horror and psychedelic. Don Bradshaw Leather was apparently some kind of British occult group who self-released this album with no credits. (Also, on the record cover the name is spelled "Bradsham-Leather," not Bradshaw Leather, as it is referred to in everything from the Nurse With Wound list to the book and web guide on early U.K. psychedelic rock Tapestry of Delights.) The title track, which takes up the first two sides, begins with some spooky piano rambling and then more mysterious sounds are added in. Soon tribal rhythms pound away while an organ seeps in with more creepy tones. The track gets a bit more intense as the organ and piano jam with the rhythms. Though most of it is instrumental, some wordless female vocals appear toward the end of side one, as the music settles down slightly. The rest of Distance Between Us is quite similar -- spooky organ and keyboard chords, obsessive piano plinking, primitive drum circle-style percussions, and other mysterious noises and drones in the background, with an overall pervasive gothic ambience, a horror film/cinematic feel. At times quiet and restrained, other times full of freaked-out energy, parts of this would not be out of place on one of Shinjuku Thief's Witch albums. The obsessively scary mood is sustained over all four sides. ~ Rolf Semprebon