Like an Adrian Belew album, Echo Garden by Arthur Nasson is a bit of an enigma—catchy, pop rock songs lay side by side improvisational meanderings. Nasson divides his album into three parts, and Part I is clearly the strongest here as it follows the funky “Bounce” rockabilly echoes. “The Other Side” staggers along like a lurching parade on some kind of retro 50’s reverb. The instrumental “Bubblefish Part I” cooks along with these great guitar runs like something stolen from Yes’ prog rock. “Unglued” comes with equal parts British Invasion 60’s and Ian Hunter’s more recent Americana-tinged rock. Things fall apart a bit for the piano-led, wordless vocal choir “Bubblefish Part II,” as it moves into the dream world of the album’s Part II and Part III. Part I concludes with the oddly ragtime “Psych Ward,” a softshoe whose only lyrics are the title.
Part II falls into psychedelic soundscapes that are an extreme contrast to the rocking tunes that glue Part I together. It is not clear how Part II fits with the rest of the album.
Part III begins with keyboard bounce in the calliope-like “Echo Garden Theme Part II,” but it is with the second track of the section where we can hear a return to the themes explored in Part I. “You Wouldn’t Understand” is an indie doo-wop as if a demo from the late 50’s. Then things get turned up for the guitar-burner “Drag,” a Revolver meets the Stones moment again with a demo feel. Then there’s the New Orleans-like piano that leads into the rockin’ jammer “Meant to Be.” Those tracks save Part III before it ends with the slightly-heavy-on-the-synths, XTC-like “Echo Garden.”
Nasson plays almost all of the instruments himself except for when he’s helped by young sons Graham and Colin. While the young Nassons show good skills, and while the elder Nasson obviously has wide-ranging talent, at times the album would’ve been strengthened by employing some additional help especially for some more fluid drumming.
