Ben Johnson
Wait
© 2004 Ben Johnson (634479107108) (format: CD-R)
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Ben Johnson: progressive piano rock with a rough edge. Questions asked; no easy answers.
tracks
- 1 Most of All
- 2 Higher Than The Rock
- 3 Let It All Come Down On Me
- 4 Not Enough
- 5 There Is No Pain
- 6 The World Without You In It
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notes
Some of the best human stories are the hardest to tell - those stories that are acted out inside a person, instead of out in the world. But the facts of Ben Johnson's life more than hint at the presence of just such a story. For without some kind of internal movement, how does a self-described nerd kid move from wanting to be liked for something other than his musical talent to pursuing a career as a performing singer and songwriter? How does he get from the shelter of his southwestern Missouri farm family to facing down life as a working musician in the windy city? The answers to these questions and some you wouldn't dare ask can be found in his work, which is at once searching, intimate and subtly powerful. He is already well on his way to meeting his own standard of being "lyrically direct and musically adventurous." In a review of a performance at the Burning Question Coffeehouse, Tribune journalist George Rawlinson described Ben's performance as "lightning in a bottle" . Perhaps if Chopin and Tori Amos had a child, and let Elton John raise him, he would play the piano like Ben Johnson. But that wouldn't explain his voice, which somehow manages to be both flawlessly controlled and emotionally raw at the same time. Of the newcomers to the scene, there are always some good writers who may become good performers, some good performers whose material might mature. Once in a great while, along comes a "beginner" who is already nothing short of excellent on every front, and Ben Johnson is that musician. He is already well on his way to meeting his own standard of being "lyrically direct and musically adventurous."
reviews
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- author: Pastandpresent.com
Ben Johnson is a classically trained piano-player, but on this six-track EP there's really not much classical music to wet your appetite about. Instead there's a whole lot American-sounding singer/songwriter stuff, but instead of having the guitar being the driving force, as in most singer/songwriter cases these days, Ben Johnson naturally lets his piano-playing be the main thing alongside his vocals, which turns out to be this CD's saving grace actually. This guy has got talent - no doubt about that. Now the only question is why he uses lipstick and writes stuff on his face?
- author: J-Sin
You didn’t have to read out the fact that Ben Johnson is a vocal coach for the touring production of “Lion King” to know how good of a singer he is. It’s made quite evident in dramatic flair throughout his “Wait” EP. His piano playing is equally dramatic and is typified with rescinding melodies that he harmonizes over vocally. The rest of the instrumentation, while sparse, is refined and tweaked to allow the focus to be on the vocals first and piano second. Chicago’s coffeehouses better be well prepared.