Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Brighton has long been thought of the most forward thinking and encouraging place for performers on the south coast of England for some time. Perhaps it could be seen as the Liverpool of the South, for it certainly has more in common with its Northern all encompassing metropolis of art than almost anywhere along the ridged line between the English Channel and the suburbs of the nation’s capital.
It is out of the loving arms of the Brighton scene that Ben Poole has made his mark, the Brighton Institute of Modern Music setting free a man of fine taste and charm and to whom his latest album, Time Has Come, is a calling card embossed with fine intricate detail and beautifully engrained thought. It is a testament to the Blues to have one so highly regarded releasing a set of songs that are gritty, sobering, honest and pleasing to the ear.
An album that delivers its point is arguably one that should be applauded with vigour and tremendous warmth, for Ben Poole, that warmth is magnified and the truth of his statement is enhanced for surely this musician understands exactly what the future holds, for some things can be planned, some thoughts can be brought into existence, but the Blues, when performed with guile and the slight brushed kiss from fate, is always going to leave a wide open road to travel and enjoy when played honestly.
Like a painter whose canvas holds so much detail but with fine prescribed aspects that it almost breathes the same air as the person standing back in astonished hush from the gallery, Time Has Come holds the attention and emotions of the listener with specific interest. It is in the detail that the album holds sway, the placing of Time as an entity and as a feeling which captivates and places the listener in a quandary of how to react when Time is so obvious but neglected by so many.
In songs such as I Think I Love You Too Much, If You Want To Play With My Heart, Just When You Thought It Was Safe and Whoever Invented Love, the listener understands Ben Poole, just as Time is understood by the musician; it is the pivotal action of the Universe that love makes the world go round and that Time is both passionate healer and gavel banging prosecutor; in that hands of Ben Poole, that gavel is loud but also sweet and hammers down, not justice, but considered opinion.
Ben Poole’s Time Has Come is released on April 1st via Manhaton Records.
Ian D. Hall