Ben Rough Concrete River
Ben Rough’s New release will make any fan of Folk Rock immediately turn their heads towards Concrete River.
Ben Rough’s Folk Rock effort encourages the sounds that of 70’s Folk Rock. Any fan of Bob Dylan will immediately be amazed by the similarities throughout Concrete River.
With the addition of 70’s folk rock, Ben and The Spades also taps into a little bit of Rockabilly with the album title track “Concrete River”. I admire the mix of genres and the blend of acoustic and electric guitar within each song.
Bens’ vocal tracking are sporadic throughout the album. In “Having A Go” you will find that Ben is merely speaking rather than singing as Bob Dylan does in his songs. What I grasp from the vocals and why Ben is able to pull off this song and others on the album is because of the raspiness’ of the vocals. If it wasn’t for his for the raspiness I believe the songs would lose their effectiveness upon the listener.
“The Long” is a how a song would sound if the Spades were ever to get a new lead singer. While listening to The Spades for the past few years, I found many comparisons within The Spades music and The Long. The intro into the song is where the similarities start for me. So pretty much if you are a fan of The Spades then you are going to enjoy Concrete River. The guitar arrangement in this song is the highlight of the song and makes this song my favourite off the album. What I enjoy the most about the arrangement is how the acoustic is stronger then the electric guitar throughout the song. The vocals are also a nice addition to the song as well, the backing vocals are low enough where they do not effect the lead vocals but add a shadowy effect onto the song.
“St. Davids Walk” is my favourite song off Concrete River. The song starts off strong right from the get go, right away you will find yourself tapping your feet along with the tune. As I listen to the song more and more I kept finding myself picturing this song minus the vocals as they are recorded as a Stompin Tom song. The backing vocals in the song will not go unnoticed as well, and you will probably find your self singing along to the chorus after the first time you hear it. Some people may find the chorus as a bit repetitive but after a few beers I really could see this song becoming a hit.