BENJAMIN WESTON - FALL OF' '58 - Album review - Nathan Henley, Music in Motion *****
From the first few seconds of Weston’s title track, ‘Fall of ’58’ you can hear the young stars 50’s/60’s influences as he echoes the sounds of former greats, Presley, Orbison and Joel.
However, this is not simply a copy of artists and times past. Weston’s production adds a very modern edge, with the use of haunting reverbs in ‘Fall of ’58’ made famous by the late Jeff Buckley. However, each track provides a further punch, creating a scene of American. ‘Shadow of You’ a modern adaption of the American diner music harks slightly to Rufus Wainright, showing off Weston’s full talents with his blindingly stylistically accurate guitar solo and motifs.
Creating an eclectic mix from Mods to rockers, Benjamin Weston provides an original sound, hauntingly accurate vocal and instrumental tone coupled with a warm modern production which makes it an ultimate Sunday CD.
Not only has Benjamin written some fantastically accurate songs, the album also features his own original take on some of the most iconic yet not overplayed tracks of the era, including Eddie Cochran’s, ‘I remember’ and the King’s own, ‘Fame & Fortune’
An absolute pleasure to listen to and review, definitely a modern artist designed for fans of Roy Orbison.
Favourite Tracks include: ‘Fall of ’58’ ‘Shadow of You’
BENJAMIN WESTON - FALL OF '58 - Album review - Tim Garston, Melody Maker *****
The album "Fall Of '58" by Benjamin Weston starts off with what I would call a classic hit. While his music is clearly influenced by 50s and 60s music such as Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Billy Joel, there are modern elements in this song that hint to the sound of more modern bands like Green Day. The quality of this song is in line with professional artists, and I love how the title of the album and the song is perfectly reflected by the actual sound of the artist.
The second song of the album is called "Shadow Of You", and it sounds a little more modern straight away. I love the clean guitars in this and the drum-work. The instruments work very well together and this artist clearly has a lot of potential. The solo in the middle of the song features some great guitar work, and I love the effects used as well.
Track number three is called "I Remember" and it uses a very sweet sounding acoustic guitar in the intro and it sounds like a classic 50s/60s love song. This song uses a slightly slower beat, typical for this kind of music, and this song definitely delivers the retro feeling of the 50s/60s very well.
"King & Queen Of The Strip" is another classic 50s/60s song with modern elements. Again the guitar work is very professional and the harmonies are perfect in this song. I am very impressed with the vocal work of this artist and the consistency so far.
"Holding You With Broken Hands" features a sweet sounding acoustic guitar, which makes this song almost sound a little country. But again the production and quality is amazing. Benjamin Weston shows his versatility with this song, and it gives this album diversity.
"Sharing You" is a cover by Bobby Vee and it is kept very close to the original, however the quality of the recording is consistent with the rest of the album.
The next song is called "Poison Kiss" and this song has a lot of modern elements, such as distorted guitars, mixed with classic songwriting and a very catchy chorus.
"We All Follow The Partisans" is another acoustic guitar song, however this time the song also features drum, bass and very warm-sounding organ sounds. The use of acoustic guitar gives this song again a slight hint of country-feel, which I personally love.
"Fame And Fortune" is a cover by the one and only Elvis Presley. To cover a song that Elvis Presley has performed takes a lot of courage and skill. I have seen a lot of artists try and fail at delivering the feeling that I get when I listen to Elvis Presley's songs, but not this time. This is the first time that someone has really delivered. You can tell this artist grew up listening to this kind of music, as he really sings from the heart.
The album finishes with the song "Mary Celeste", which is a perfect choice for the last song of this album. It features a very rhythm based piano and sweet guitar sounds, mixed with deep and meaningful lyrics.
All in all I would definitely recommend this album to all you 50s/60s music lovers out there, but also to people who are into modern pop-rock music, as this album features a whole range of songs that have a classic feel to it, yet are recorded to todays highest standards and I have to point out the quality of each song and the vocal-strengths as well.
From the first few seconds of Weston’s title track, ‘Fall of ’58’ you can hear the young stars 50’s/60’s influences as he echoes the sounds of former greats, Presley, Orbison and Joel.
However, this is not simply a copy of artists and times past. Weston’s production adds a very modern edge, with the use of haunting reverbs in ‘Fall of ’58’ made famous by the late Jeff Buckley. However, each track provides a further punch, creating a scene of American. ‘Shadow of You’ a modern adaption of the American diner music harks slightly to Rufus Wainright, showing off Weston’s full talents with his blindingly stylistically accurate guitar solo and motifs.
Creating an eclectic mix from Mods to rockers, Benjamin Weston provides an original sound, hauntingly accurate vocal and instrumental tone coupled with a warm modern production which makes it an ultimate Sunday CD.
Not only has Benjamin written some fantastically accurate songs, the album also features his own original take on some of the most iconic yet not overplayed tracks of the era, including Eddie Cochran’s, ‘I remember’ and the King’s own, ‘Fame & Fortune’
An absolute pleasure to listen to and review, definitely a modern artist designed for fans of Roy Orbison.
Favourite Tracks include: ‘Fall of ’58’ ‘Shadow of You’
BENJAMIN WESTON - FALL OF '58 - Album review - Tim Garston, Melody Maker *****
The album "Fall Of '58" by Benjamin Weston starts off with what I would call a classic hit. While his music is clearly influenced by 50s and 60s music such as Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Billy Joel, there are modern elements in this song that hint to the sound of more modern bands like Green Day. The quality of this song is in line with professional artists, and I love how the title of the album and the song is perfectly reflected by the actual sound of the artist.
The second song of the album is called "Shadow Of You", and it sounds a little more modern straight away. I love the clean guitars in this and the drum-work. The instruments work very well together and this artist clearly has a lot of potential. The solo in the middle of the song features some great guitar work, and I love the effects used as well.
Track number three is called "I Remember" and it uses a very sweet sounding acoustic guitar in the intro and it sounds like a classic 50s/60s love song. This song uses a slightly slower beat, typical for this kind of music, and this song definitely delivers the retro feeling of the 50s/60s very well.
"King & Queen Of The Strip" is another classic 50s/60s song with modern elements. Again the guitar work is very professional and the harmonies are perfect in this song. I am very impressed with the vocal work of this artist and the consistency so far.
"Holding You With Broken Hands" features a sweet sounding acoustic guitar, which makes this song almost sound a little country. But again the production and quality is amazing. Benjamin Weston shows his versatility with this song, and it gives this album diversity.
"Sharing You" is a cover by Bobby Vee and it is kept very close to the original, however the quality of the recording is consistent with the rest of the album.
The next song is called "Poison Kiss" and this song has a lot of modern elements, such as distorted guitars, mixed with classic songwriting and a very catchy chorus.
"We All Follow The Partisans" is another acoustic guitar song, however this time the song also features drum, bass and very warm-sounding organ sounds. The use of acoustic guitar gives this song again a slight hint of country-feel, which I personally love.
"Fame And Fortune" is a cover by the one and only Elvis Presley. To cover a song that Elvis Presley has performed takes a lot of courage and skill. I have seen a lot of artists try and fail at delivering the feeling that I get when I listen to Elvis Presley's songs, but not this time. This is the first time that someone has really delivered. You can tell this artist grew up listening to this kind of music, as he really sings from the heart.
The album finishes with the song "Mary Celeste", which is a perfect choice for the last song of this album. It features a very rhythm based piano and sweet guitar sounds, mixed with deep and meaningful lyrics.
All in all I would definitely recommend this album to all you 50s/60s music lovers out there, but also to people who are into modern pop-rock music, as this album features a whole range of songs that have a classic feel to it, yet are recorded to todays highest standards and I have to point out the quality of each song and the vocal-strengths as well.