Oblivion Sun
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Oblivion Sun

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"Oblivion Sun"

Oblivion Sun
The High Places
I always think it’s incredibly remarkable that by hearing the first notes of an album you can recognize who’s the artist or band. In the early days that was possible with for example The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. To stay in our own progressive field, that rapid recognition was there with Supertramp (that little, restless Wurlitzer piano), the old Genesis and Yes.
In front of me now lies an album from a band on which this applies too: Oblivion Sun. “Huh…” I hear you’re saying, “never heard of”. But the hardened progressive rock-lover, who’s not afraid for more complex music and also has a trained prog-ear, is familiar with the band-name Happy The Man for sure. Oblivion Sun should therefore be seen as a continuation of Happy The Man. In fact we only miss Kit Watkins, the keyboard-player who once replaced Peter Bardens in Camel, but who’s now sitting behind the controls.
After the eponymous debut from 2007 particularly guitarist Stan Whitaker and keyboard-player/saxophonist Frank Wyatt have once again successfully produced a very fascinating album with high-quality progressive rock.
What should I write about this sublime album? No, first I’ll give the floor over to someone who is much more capable in doing this than I am, colleague Wouter Bessels, who wrote the following line about the debut-album from Oblivion Sun:
“Oblivion Sun is without question one of the progressive highlights from 2007. An album on which melodic themes are handled in an authentic way and on which musical clichés aren’t under discussion. A group that might cause a sensation on stage, which I hope will come one day. I think it comes as no surprise to the readers that this is obliged stuff for Happy The Man-lovers, while other interested folks will get a CD which ensures American progressive rock in all its greatness.”
And yes, this goes exactly the same for this album, “The High Places”, excellent musicians, fresh compositions and an optimal production. On this album you’ll get served more than forty minutes prog from the highest level. You do have to play this silver disk more than once in your CD-player, before the music makes a click in your head though. The only exception is the track March Of The Mushrooms, which sounds very Celtic, has a beautiful melody and is provided with guitar on a Camel-like way (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZuLy76eA6E&feature=player_embedded).
In fact you can’t compare the music from Oblivion Sun with anything else, but maybe you’re waiting for that a little bit anyway. Well, think of a mix of our own Solution, the old harder work of Steve Hackett and King Crimson with a light prog-sauce Iluvatar on a base of Supersister, or are this idiot references?
The soprano-saxophone from Frank Wyatt fits perfectly into the music from Oblivion Sun, while the same man also shines on the keyboards. Guitarist Stanley Whitaker plays the stars from heaven on both acoustic and electric guitar. And what to think of the compositions, seldom you’ll hear such a unusual combination from the chord-playing. On this album Whitaker is also the singer and actually I’m not taken with this very much. In this case it would have been better if the old hands had hired a guest-singer.
To sum up, it may be stated that we have an album of very high quality with a recognizable own sound. And that is extremely clever in these days in which all pop-music is feeble and similar. For me “The High Places” from Oblivion Sun is already one of the highlights from 2013. And hopefully this company will once show their arts on our continent, because you can be sure I’ll be the first in line.
Joop Klazinga – www.Progwereld - progwereld.com


"Oblivion Sun"

Oblivion Sun
The High Places
I always think it’s incredibly remarkable that by hearing the first notes of an album you can recognize who’s the artist or band. In the early days that was possible with for example The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. To stay in our own progressive field, that rapid recognition was there with Supertramp (that little, restless Wurlitzer piano), the old Genesis and Yes.
In front of me now lies an album from a band on which this applies too: Oblivion Sun. “Huh…” I hear you’re saying, “never heard of”. But the hardened progressive rock-lover, who’s not afraid for more complex music and also has a trained prog-ear, is familiar with the band-name Happy The Man for sure. Oblivion Sun should therefore be seen as a continuation of Happy The Man. In fact we only miss Kit Watkins, the keyboard-player who once replaced Peter Bardens in Camel, but who’s now sitting behind the controls.
After the eponymous debut from 2007 particularly guitarist Stan Whitaker and keyboard-player/saxophonist Frank Wyatt have once again successfully produced a very fascinating album with high-quality progressive rock.
What should I write about this sublime album? No, first I’ll give the floor over to someone who is much more capable in doing this than I am, colleague Wouter Bessels, who wrote the following line about the debut-album from Oblivion Sun:
“Oblivion Sun is without question one of the progressive highlights from 2007. An album on which melodic themes are handled in an authentic way and on which musical clichés aren’t under discussion. A group that might cause a sensation on stage, which I hope will come one day. I think it comes as no surprise to the readers that this is obliged stuff for Happy The Man-lovers, while other interested folks will get a CD which ensures American progressive rock in all its greatness.”
And yes, this goes exactly the same for this album, “The High Places”, excellent musicians, fresh compositions and an optimal production. On this album you’ll get served more than forty minutes prog from the highest level. You do have to play this silver disk more than once in your CD-player, before the music makes a click in your head though. The only exception is the track March Of The Mushrooms, which sounds very Celtic, has a beautiful melody and is provided with guitar on a Camel-like way (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZuLy76eA6E&feature=player_embedded).
In fact you can’t compare the music from Oblivion Sun with anything else, but maybe you’re waiting for that a little bit anyway. Well, think of a mix of our own Solution, the old harder work of Steve Hackett and King Crimson with a light prog-sauce Iluvatar on a base of Supersister, or are this idiot references?
The soprano-saxophone from Frank Wyatt fits perfectly into the music from Oblivion Sun, while the same man also shines on the keyboards. Guitarist Stanley Whitaker plays the stars from heaven on both acoustic and electric guitar. And what to think of the compositions, seldom you’ll hear such a unusual combination from the chord-playing. On this album Whitaker is also the singer and actually I’m not taken with this very much. In this case it would have been better if the old hands had hired a guest-singer.
To sum up, it may be stated that we have an album of very high quality with a recognizable own sound. And that is extremely clever in these days in which all pop-music is feeble and similar. For me “The High Places” from Oblivion Sun is already one of the highlights from 2013. And hopefully this company will once show their arts on our continent, because you can be sure I’ll be the first in line.
Joop Klazinga – www.Progwereld - progwereld.com


"Oblivion Sun"

 
http://progsheet1.hypermart.net/cdiq.html
 
Oblivion Sun - The High Places (Prophase)

There are days that I despise the word progressive. It is overused and often refers to fan club retread music that has more to do with 1972 than it does with progressing musically. Oblivion Sun's The High Places restores quite a bit of faith. It is an excursion into fresh territories. Inventively melodic numbers that challenge the mind while engaging the ear.

Oblivion Sun are now a quartet. Joining founders Frank Wyatt and Stanley Whitaker (both of Happy The Man fame) are bassist David Hughes and drummer Bill Brasso. The new guys are a perfect fit, and the quartet really cooks. Wyatt's Deckard opens the album with the band firing on all pistons. Whitaker's symphonic March Of The Mushroom Men follows. I love the guitar on this. Next up it's Everything with a timeless vocal by Whitaker and haunting acoustic guitar. The playful instrumental Dead Sea Squirrels closes what in my mind I see as side 1 on a powerful note.

Side 2, if you will, is the 6 part Wyatt epic title track. It is an aural, lyrical, and emotional journey. It is as exciting as it is sublime. With every listen, I discover more. A bass / drum syncopation here - a tiny piano motif there. It is of the moment while simultaneously harkening back to the earliest Death's Crown days of Happy The Man. It shows the continuity of vision over decades of playing, effort, and an unceasing need to create. Wyatt is truly a genius. We are lucky to live in a time where Wyatt and Whitaker deliver fresh gifts for our ears and hearts. As the Doors were wont to say: Are you in?
 
                
  - Progsheet


"Oblivion Sun"

 
http://progsheet1.hypermart.net/cdiq.html
 
Oblivion Sun - The High Places (Prophase)

There are days that I despise the word progressive. It is overused and often refers to fan club retread music that has more to do with 1972 than it does with progressing musically. Oblivion Sun's The High Places restores quite a bit of faith. It is an excursion into fresh territories. Inventively melodic numbers that challenge the mind while engaging the ear.

Oblivion Sun are now a quartet. Joining founders Frank Wyatt and Stanley Whitaker (both of Happy The Man fame) are bassist David Hughes and drummer Bill Brasso. The new guys are a perfect fit, and the quartet really cooks. Wyatt's Deckard opens the album with the band firing on all pistons. Whitaker's symphonic March Of The Mushroom Men follows. I love the guitar on this. Next up it's Everything with a timeless vocal by Whitaker and haunting acoustic guitar. The playful instrumental Dead Sea Squirrels closes what in my mind I see as side 1 on a powerful note.

Side 2, if you will, is the 6 part Wyatt epic title track. It is an aural, lyrical, and emotional journey. It is as exciting as it is sublime. With every listen, I discover more. A bass / drum syncopation here - a tiny piano motif there. It is of the moment while simultaneously harkening back to the earliest Death's Crown days of Happy The Man. It shows the continuity of vision over decades of playing, effort, and an unceasing need to create. Wyatt is truly a genius. We are lucky to live in a time where Wyatt and Whitaker deliver fresh gifts for our ears and hearts. As the Doors were wont to say: Are you in?
 
                
  - Progsheet


"Oblivion Sun"

Review by progaeopteryx
Prog Reviewer
5 stars This was one of those purchases I found on Ebay for a dirt-cheap price. These are hit-and-miss as you can imagine, ranging from fantastic discoveries to uncoordinated heaps of debris reeking of gastric zephyrs and only things that a turkey vulture could consume. Oblivion Sun's self-titled release of 2007, I'm glad to say is one of those fantastic discoveries.

This project is made up of two members of Happy The Man, guitarist Stan Whitaker and keyboardist/sax player Frank Wyatt. Having not been much of a fan of HTM, I wasn't expecting much on this album. But I was greatly surprised. This album sounded much more dynamic and energetic than anything I had previously heard by HTM. The music is complex, sometimes jazzy, and mostly rather eclectic. I love the Moog synthesizers played by keyboardist Bill Plummer, talented enough to be compared with Jan Hammer and Tony Banks at the same time.

It's really hard to pin down the sound of this band, in which I hear references to the Dixie Dregs, King Crimson, D.F.A., and obviously Happy The Man. It seems like a fine mix of symphonic prog and jazz rock/fusion, often with quirky melodies, sometimes reminiscent of Gentle Giant. The song Catwalk is an unsual number in that it reminds me a lot of Genesis, particularly for Whitaker's vocals sounding like a subdued Peter Gabriel and the Baroque interlude in the middle sounding like it was off of Genesis' Trick of a Tail album. On occasion, their sound gets harder in places. The album is chiefly instrumental, with only two tracks containing vocals.

A rather unexpected, yet wonderful discovery performed by an extremely tallented band full of intelligently arranged, quirky and mostly complex compositions. Well worth the highest grade of five stars. This one will be in my CD rotation on a regular basis. - progarchives.com


"Oblivion Sun"

Review by progaeopteryx
Prog Reviewer
5 stars This was one of those purchases I found on Ebay for a dirt-cheap price. These are hit-and-miss as you can imagine, ranging from fantastic discoveries to uncoordinated heaps of debris reeking of gastric zephyrs and only things that a turkey vulture could consume. Oblivion Sun's self-titled release of 2007, I'm glad to say is one of those fantastic discoveries.

This project is made up of two members of Happy The Man, guitarist Stan Whitaker and keyboardist/sax player Frank Wyatt. Having not been much of a fan of HTM, I wasn't expecting much on this album. But I was greatly surprised. This album sounded much more dynamic and energetic than anything I had previously heard by HTM. The music is complex, sometimes jazzy, and mostly rather eclectic. I love the Moog synthesizers played by keyboardist Bill Plummer, talented enough to be compared with Jan Hammer and Tony Banks at the same time.

It's really hard to pin down the sound of this band, in which I hear references to the Dixie Dregs, King Crimson, D.F.A., and obviously Happy The Man. It seems like a fine mix of symphonic prog and jazz rock/fusion, often with quirky melodies, sometimes reminiscent of Gentle Giant. The song Catwalk is an unsual number in that it reminds me a lot of Genesis, particularly for Whitaker's vocals sounding like a subdued Peter Gabriel and the Baroque interlude in the middle sounding like it was off of Genesis' Trick of a Tail album. On occasion, their sound gets harder in places. The album is chiefly instrumental, with only two tracks containing vocals.

A rather unexpected, yet wonderful discovery performed by an extremely tallented band full of intelligently arranged, quirky and mostly complex compositions. Well worth the highest grade of five stars. This one will be in my CD rotation on a regular basis. - progarchives.com


Discography

* Oblivion Sun (2007) ProPhase Music MVDA4648
* The High Places (2013) Prophase Music PMCD1301

Photos

Bio

Oblivion Sun is the brainchild of Frank Wyatt and Stanley Whitaker, founding members of 70's Arista recording artists Happy The Man. HTM reformed in 1999 to headline Nearfest 2000 and they released their first CD in almost 25 years, “The Muse Awakens” in 2004. Frank and Stan recognized the difficulty in getting together to work on new HTM music due to personal schedules and proximity. They had amassed an abundance of material that they feared would never get recorded if they waited for HTM to record it. It was out of this reality that they began recording the duo project “Pedal Giant Animals”. The PGA project, with guest musicians Chris Mack and Pete Princiotto, became the seed for a new band…Oblivion Sun.

Oblivion Sun comfortably crosses many genres while staying true to their progressive roots. This is a band that’s not afraid to get downright funky at times and throw down some serious rock grooves. Expect a good deal of vocal content as well! Fear not, this is still prog and fans of HTM’s lush arrangements will not be disappointed.

The ensemble features the compositional and performance skills of all four musicians: Stan Whitaker on guitar and vocals, Frank Wyatt on keyboards and reeds, Bill Brasso on drums, and David Hughes on bass.
Together, Oblivion Sun have created a powerful, dynamic sound that is sure to satisfy all prog fans, young and old alike. The band has quickly established itself as a forerunner in the ongoing evolution of progressive music. In January of 2013, the band released their sophomore effort entitled The High Places. This tour-de-force maintains the band's instrumental progressive roots while expanding their vocal repertoire. They plan to tour in the U.S. and are looking towards Europe in 2014. They are currently fine tuning a live performance set that will combine music from both Oblivion Sun albums and some prime cuts from the Happy the Man days.