Ben Bedford – Portraits
Cavalier Recordings – 4 September 2020
Illinois singer songwriter Ben Bedford has five albums under his belt already, dating back to 2008, with his latest being the splendid Hermit’s Spyglass, released in 2018. For this twelve track compilation, Ben has plucked songs from his first three albums to create a set of vignettes that stand alone as narratives and work together as part of a cohesive and satisfying whole, acting as the perfect introduction to those just discovering his music and an attractive addition for those more familiar with his catalogue.
Things start strongly with ‘Lincoln’s Man’, the title track from his debut album and an eight-minute wartime narrative. Snippets of lyrics like the army ‘clad in blue of gentlemen’ could be read as an abstract political comment, as could the reporter’s repeated declaration of ‘I’m Lincoln’s man, I’m Lincoln’s man, for better or for worse’, when considering the historical president’s own revolt against slavery. But, even as just an enjoyable song, this mini-epic, narrating the observations of a determined but ultimately doomed soldier, is acutely written and beautifully played, with the banjo introducing the song chiming nicely with the wonderful growling bowed bass line. Ben’s strong voice, sometimes bringing to mind Lyle Lovett but more often the revered Townes Van Zandt, contains hints of weariness, but there is a pride and determination that gives the song even more character. ‘The Sangamon’, from his second album, 2009’s Land of the Shadows, is a gentler played piece with a steady and beautifully picked acoustic line underpinning the song and a second guitar, in the vein of Dave Rawlings playing with Gillian Welch, popping up in places and wrapping itself around the main part. Ron de la Vega’s cello is also lovely, giving this tale of grief and catharsis an appropriately melancholy air. Ben’s voice is different from the driven narrator of ‘Lincoln’ here, containing a softness and fragility, emphasised by Kari Bedford’s subtle backing vocals, that suggest a fairly crushed protagonist.
‘What was Lost’, the title track to his 2012 album, is another reflective narrative that is closely related to ‘The Sangamon’, with those evocative backing vocals coming again and the cello providing a beautiful low sweeping stroke that works well with a sad wartime tale of memories and loss. Another particularly effective addition to the arrangement here is Chas William’s electric guitar, sparsely played and coming in unexpectedly, demonstrating the clever arranging and production noticeable on all of Ben’s records. ‘John the Baptist’, the first song on What was Lost, is a very different one to the above, but another fine example of exciting arrangements, with Dennis Wage’s dynamic Hammond organ being a notable delight. Ben’s acoustic guitar also has one eyebrow raised here, with string bends and a jaunty rhythm that the electric guitar part really connects with. There are great lines too, like ‘never mind your tooth for a tooth / from a madman truth is still the truth’, all resulting in a hard-boiled story that is cracking fun. The third and final song from What was Lost is ‘Guinevere is Sleeping’, a more straight-up piece of folk music than the previous two, with a more spare arrangement of electric guitar and soft strings framing Ben’s vocals and acoustic guitar playing. It is a gorgeous song that fully highlights the variety of material found on the album.
The second half is second album heavy, with four more songs joining ‘The Sangamon’, the first of which, ‘Twenty One’, references that song, with our homesick young narrator travelling ‘along the Sangamon with my wife and boy’ and, bewildered, states that ‘god I’m only twenty one’. Perhaps the earlier song reports future events, but both contain gorgeous melodies and a wistful melancholy that relates them. ‘Amelia’ speeds things up a touch and the vocal has more grit, reminiscent of Freenwheelin’ era Dylan, but this song is chorus led, evoking more of the euphoria of naïve war than ‘Lincoln’s Man’s weary protagonist. Again, the backing vocals are key here, as is the electric guitar and some cracking Dobro playing, making this one a direct and highly enjoyable piece. In comparison, ‘Land of the Shadows’ takes us back to Townes territory, with subtle and powerful songwriting telling a sad tale of racism and violence with minimal backing. It’s a beautiful song and possibly my pick here, although there’s plenty of choices.
Penultimate piece ‘One Night at a Time’ is a more straight up story of love and care, with Joey Schmidt’s soft reedy accordion lending things a mellow romance that is lovely with Chas Williams’ Dobro playing. It is the simplest track here in terms of structure and message, but as welcome as a hug and it leads us nicely to closer ‘Goodbye Jack’, from Lincoln’s Man, an affectionate elegy that plays it with a quickly brushed drum beat and that lovely Dobro again. The electric guitar even gives us a bit of delay on this one and the band certainly sound like they are having as much fun as the roguish Jack did. This is a tune that can’t stand up to songs like ‘The Sangamon’ or ‘Land of the Shadows’ in terms of narrative depth and emotion, but it is ace music to end the album on, with a band work out and a snappy cinematic story that is impossible to resist. It also creates a wonderful contrast with the above songs and again demonstrates the versatility of Ben’s music.
Portraits is a compilation that clearly shows Ben Bedford’s talent as a singer, songwriter and musician. Songs like ‘Land of the Shadows’, ‘What was Lost’ and ‘Twenty One’, to name but three, display fine lyrics sang with poise and a gentle touch that beautifully enhance the narrative, while ‘John the Baptist’ and ‘Goodbye Jack’ suggests drama and theatre, with the band digging in and having plenty of fun. There examples of fine writing across all twelve tracks and splendid musicianship, sometimes almost grandiose but mainly subtle and intelligent, that always serves the song. If this is your first foray into Ben’s music, there is so much here to enjoy, if you are already a fan, this a worthy addition to the collection. Portraits is a high end set of beautifully performed and written songs that will delight on many levels.
Portraits is out on 4th September.
Pre-Order via Amazon
For your dates, including the UK next year, visit: http://www.benbedford.com/tour