A=MH2

An album based around a very simple formula: Andy Clark plays a catchy psychedelic tune and guitarist Mick Hutchinson plays raga-inspired solos over it. As far as formulas go, it works pretty well, and the pair seemed to be bringing in a wide range of influences - as on the opening track Improvisation On a Modal Scale, in which Andy Clark's jaunty rhythm for the backing track seems to take in a swinging sort of jazz influence on the one hand and a hard funk vibe on the other. However, the songwriting chops of the pair hadn't quite developed to the point where they could turn adequate improvisations into stellar compositions, and the album ultimately seems to explore its own little musical cul-de-sac without making any great advances. It's no waste of time to give this one a listen, or even several, but it's not so good that you ought to go out of your way to track it down.