It would appear that London based Ben Rusch is a prolific composer as this is his sixteenth album. "Oh Yes!!" mixes up a variety of influences for a civilised three course pre theatre dinner.
The lyrics here show intelligence and more than the occasional spark of humour. I liked "… I certainly had no designs to out the closet arsonist in you" from "Fissile Isle" and "#8230; She's got a pack of ninety roofies in her purse and they're all meant for me" from "As Good As It Gets". Those words suggest a sense of adventure that seems at odds with the rather more restrained backing and presentation.
Reflecting on the album, I could hear moments when his music toys with the idea of following in the footsteps of Peter Gabriel period Genesis and there were times when the melodies seemed more at home on some West End stage. An album like this is, of course, more likely to appeal to a more mature audience and that unthreatening feeling of familiarity might well be part of the plan. Likewise, Mr Rusch's vocals remain warm and curiously restrained throughout as if to avoid scaring anybody. Being unfamiliar with his oeuvre, this might just be his style but I'm tempted to think that he just doesn't stretch himself as far as someone like Mark Northfield does.
This is a well executed album that hides its intelligence behind a rather thick veneer of politeness and it is also one that ultimately owes more to musical theatre than to any other musical genre. Doing most everything himself also proves something of a limitation here. All the dots get joined up neatly but the picture is always Ben Rusch, if that makes sense. However, predictability is popular these days so maybe it's the right approach. So, do we have another Andrew Lloyd Webber in the making? Perhaps we do.