Elly Roberts reviews
Benjy Ferree: Leaving The Nest
Distributed by
Domino
- January 2007
- Rating: 8/10
Thirty-two year old Benjy Ferree is a one-off.
He’s different, very different, to his peers, which is highly commendable.
This odd mish-mash of genuine Americana is a real box of musical tricks, but
it not always ‘easy’ on first listening. Mostly off-kilter in approach, it
draws you in for further analysis. Its main feature is Ferree’s totally
freewheeling approach, synonymous with early Bob Dylan – it’s bold to a point.
It also possesses a unique warm charm, a rarity in a music world obsessed
with perfection, which Leaving The Nest isn’t. Nevertheless, as a debut, it
bodes well for the future as his songwriting gets into a stride.
Sun drenched In The Countryside starts with a grizzly guitar, similar
to Steely Dan classic, Reeling In The Years, then flows into a jaunty and
catchy sing-along - a little beauty. Dogkillers is totally unexpected,
as it displays a lot of Led Zeppelin at their roughest rock edges, and
thumping sequences of riffs and pounding drums (Meg White’s immature
clattering comes to mind) by Laura Jean Harris – Zep’s Bonzo would be proud
of this, even if it’s quite basic.
Then comes, what can only be described as outrageously bold. A country
plodder with swirling violin courtesy Burleigh Seaver. More violin features
the magnificent intro for The Desert, with Ferree’s vocals hitting a
highpoint as it wanders along neatly to acoustic guitar and more sublime
sticks, this time by Dennis Kane.
Melancholic Private Honeymoon, begins with a brilliant cappella vocal,
which gets further violin treatment by Winston Yu: an absolute delight, and
by far the most inventive, and beautiful song of the lot. On its back comes a
belting country chugger – Leaving The Nest which seems to contain
everything but the kitchen sink, a real fun blast with plenty of foot-tapping
opportunities, quickly segued by stomping Hollywood Sign as the
collective runs into party mode, in a country way of course.
Rapidly dropping the furious pace, a tad, They Were Here is a simple
country and western ditty, yet another CD highlight. Just to prove he’s
mega-talented, he drops-in a wobbly blues harp (harmonica) to lead us into the
quaintly playful Why Bother. As if this wasn’t enough, Byrds-like
jangly acoustic guitar and swooning cellos swirl around Ferree’s striding
vocals throughout In The Woods.
Just like Damien Rice’s ‘O’, this is a real grower. Get into the
saddle and enjoy the ride.
The full list of tracks included are :
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
