|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Croft, Benjamin: We Are Here To Help
 Keyboardist Benjamin Croft has assembled an incredible guest list of musicians for his latest release We Are Here To Help. Croft wastes no time as he comes out strong with the opening “We Are Here To Help”. When you have Stu Hamm, Greg Howe, and Marco Minneman you can’t lose. This one gets heavy, but has a good groove that keeps the listener on full alert. Listen closely to Hamm as he glides along as his bass keeps pace with Howe’s riffs; everyone gets a turn to cut loose, what a start! For as intricate as this music is, it is equally as catchy and melodic. The title track features Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, and Billy Sheehan’s signature growling bass roars underneath. The vocal gives this one a bit of a pop feel, but it still rips. Mike Stern lends his immediately recognizable style and tone to “You Made Me Miss” along with Simon Phillips and Stu Hamm. It’s not often that I praise a vocalist, but Lynsey Ward who appears on “Caught In The Flypaper” (and “Wrestling With Plato”) has a beautiful voice. Her voice soars over the track, and the instrumental sections take this from a melodic rocker into heavier territory. The album is a 50/50 mix of instrumental and vocal tracks, and Croft gives you a taste of fusion, prog, and metal, while keeping it melodic and focused. The legendary Frank Gambale is featured on “Lower Moat Manor”, sit back and enjoy his playing; it brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed the soloing of both Per Nilsson (guitar) and Croft on the closer “She Flies Softly On”.
Croft does it right, he gets great players and lets them do their thing. Let’s not forget the leader himself, I like that he uses a lot of Hammond and piano, and is quite the soloist himself. The music is memorable, and good songs will get you every time!
Track List:
1. The Age of Magrathea
2. We Are Here To Help
3. You Made Me Miss
4. Caught In The Flypaper
5. Same Siders
6. Wrestling With Plato
7. Lower Moat Manor
8. She Flies Softly On
Added: April 28th 2024
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score: 
Related Link: Artist Website
Hits: 1022
Language: english
[  Printer Friendly Page ]
[  Send to a Friend ] |
|
[ Back to the Reviews Index ]
|
|
| » SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews: |
Croft, Benjamin: We Are Here To Help
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2024-04-28 17:03:52
My Score: 
It would be easy to be cynical about the title of Benjamin Croft’s album, We Are Here To Help and wonder if he’s referring to the all-star cast assembled, you’d guess, in the hope of elevating his music and garnering some extra interest along the way. In all honesty, these multi-name projects are virtually ten-a-penny, but the key to their success is twofold, firstly, knowing the strengths of those asked to contribute and secondly - and most importantly - writing some great tunes before that first process even gets started.
Thankfully, Benjamin Croft just about manages to get a gold star on both counts, and his keyboard playing is also pretty damn impressive too. Where, for me, things fall down as you run from the start of this album to its end is the pacing and positioning of the tracks - every odd numbered piece an instrumental workout where each musician gets a chance to shine, whereas each of the even numbered is a lyric led song where a singer adds a different edge. This seemingly neat idea impedes the flow and intention, possibly lessening the impact of both styles along the way. The opening “The Age Of Magrathea” is a cracking workout, Croft, Greg Howe, Stuart Hamm, Marco Minnemann and Carter Arrington (additional guitar) ripping up everything in sight as they dart hither and thither to great, progressive metal/rock/fusion(lite) effect. With the title track opening in similar style - Billy Sheehan handling bass here in place of Hamm (Howe isn’t on this one either) - instantly you think, well, I’ve got a handle on this album, but then the keys rush to the fore, more melodic than before and Jeff Scott Soto adds a surprisingly smooth vocal, leaving a kind of John Payne era Asia feel, although with more exuberance musically. Even as a huge JSS fan, it’s not the vocal I expected from him.
And so it continues, “You Made Me Miss” (Croft, Hamm, Mike Stern on guitar and Simon Phillips on drums) combines a stop start beat with some great interplay from all involved - a few straight ahead passages intertwined with some more frenetic instrumental jousting, before Lynsey Ward picks up the mic for “Caught In The Flypaper” for an altogether more soothing, Kate Bush like workout.
Other musicians who appear include Per Nilsson and Frank Gambale on guitars and Dave Marks and Flo Moore on bass, so you know that each and every performance is absolutely bang on the money. However, with the same formulas played out on the back half of the album (Soto and Ward also handling a song apiece on vocals), you can’t quite shake off the notion that you’re somehow listening to a mash up of two good, if not always 100% aligned ideas, just being shoved together. Unusually for me as an out and out album listener, I’d suggest that what’s been presented here actually works better as stand along pieces rather than one continuous album, but with talent to burn, a good sound and tight compositions, the end results still come recommended.
|
|
|
|
2004 Sea Of Tranquility | For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.
|
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content Sea of Tranquility
SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com 
|
|
