Reviewed by Tony Cummings

"This music is taken from Breakspear's one man rock theatre,' says the sleeve and it sure ain't jivin' junior. Coming on like the man who put (flippin') 'ec! into eclectic this is a madcap, surreal musical journey - witn rock, pop, dance, blues and jazz mutated in vaudevillian splendour. A dizzying musical soundscape, with a wheedly voiced Nick Breakspear Jones (yep, his real name) overseeing some seriously good musicians (keys man Matt Wanstall and guitarist Martyn Pilling are top grade) in a set of songs - with quite a lot of speech - which are never less than interesting and occasionally sublime (the turbulent "The Secret"). Literate lyrics from a man who has a vast amount to say. There are some cringe-worthy moments (our hero's attempt at a blues pastiche on "Dry Bones") and there are so many ideas musical, theatrical, lyrical crammed in here sometimes 'Fling' sounds like a sampler for a 5-album set. But in terms of courageous inventiveness it's unlikely you'll find a more intriguing album debut.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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