Ben Sollee - Learning to Bend
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CD Details
Artist: Ben SolleeEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-06-10
Music Label: R.E.D. Distribution
Soundtracks:
- A Few Honest Words
- How To See The Sun Rise
- Bury Me With My Car
- Bend
- It's Not Impossible
- I Can't
- Prettiest Tree on the Mountain
- Panning for Gold
- A Change is Gonna Come
- Built for This
- Copper and Malachite
Music reviews of Learning to Bend
Music Review: A TRUE GEM
Rating: 5 Stars
This album represents a triumph in every respect. Very solid song writing in the pop song tradition: lovely melodies, well-written lyrics sweetly sung. However, what distinguishes this album from most everything else being written and recorded by young musicians these days are the arrangements and tempos. With Ben's background in classical music one naturally finds songs written in different tempos, such as the waltz, and use of other string instruments besides a guitar and Ben's cello. Yet, Ben can still throw in fiddle, Bela Fleck's banjo, jaw harp, drums, harps, saxophones and even a vibraphone when called for. And that's the point, Ben uses these varied instruments when called for, not just to show off. To top things off, this is a stunningly well recorded album, no compression here, which plays well on an audiophile system.
I came to Ben, through the music of Abigail Washburn, who's family and mine have been friends for years. So while I owe it to Abby's family to say nice things about her, not hard at all, I owe nothing to Ben. I have become a fan of his simply by listening to him play with Abby, for several years now, and getting to know him a bit at pre-concert gatherings. This is a tremendously talented young man. His album will stand-up quite well against anything else released this year (I'm talking about artists like Elvis Costello and Van Morrison both of whom released strong albums this year) and will repay re-listening for years to come. Isn't that the real test of a great album?
Description of Learning to Bend
It was the cat-poles around the lake at his grandfather s farm that inspired Ben Sollee s debut album Learning To Bend. The frailty of those awkward looking plants standing stoutly against winds that challenged even the strongest of nearby trees is an affecting metaphor for human struggle and perseverance. This idea is central to Learning To Bend.Key tracks on Learning To Bend include two reactions to the current political landscape, A Few Honest Words, and an adaptation of Sam Cooke s A Change is Gonna Come, in which Ben has written updated, politically relevant verses. Other highlights of the album are the playful, soul track, How To See the Sun Rise and the vulnerable yet insistent It s Not Impossible, where Ben laments the unfortunate status quo that boys don t cry.
Ben has found considerable success in recent years through his ability to bend. In 2007, he was named one of NPR s Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year. His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Béla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.
Being born and raised in Kentucky, Ben is very proud to have recorded Learning To Bend with Duane Lundy in Lexington, KY and releasing the album with SonaBLAST! Records, a Louisville based label. In fact, almost all aspects of the record are rooted in Kentucky in some form - from the photography, to the design of the disc, to the videos.
Ben s unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting. However, the single most salient quality of Learning to Bend, is Ben s contagiously optimistic worldview. Ben is not just expressing his personal quest for flexibility, he is asking the entire country to learn to bend, learn how to cry, learn how to see the sun rise... He is at the forefront of a movement that is happening right now: a zeitgeist in which a nation can face reality and empower itself to evolve and feel deeply and stand up for the power of hope.
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