Album Notes

Ben Glover has been compelled to write songs since his mid-teens when he was awoken and unsettled by Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. He continues to be influenced by similar artists whose songs contain lyrical richness and who take a poetic approach in exploring the human condition. When he was sixteen, Ben started performing in his home village of Glenarm, situated on the north coast of Ireland. After graduating in Law he inherently knew that it was essential for him to pursue a career in music. In the summer of 2004 he put together his studio and touring band, “The Earls.” and in the spring of 2006 they released their eagerly awaited debut EP, “The Ballad of Carla Boone.” The EP earned Ben the Big Buzz Irish Entertainment Award for “Best New Irish Pop Act” and was critically acclaimed by many leading Irish DJ’s, including the BBC’s, Gerry Anderson, who called the EP “one of the best records ever to be made in Northern Ireland.” Ben followed up the EP with his full-length debut recording in August 2007. He and the Earls traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record with renowned producer/musician JD Foster (Calexico, Richmond Fontaine, Richard Buckner). Ben was joined in Blackbird Studios’ celebrated Studio A with such heavy hitters as 21-time Grammy Award winner Vince Gill on mandolin and backing vocals and John Deaderick (The Dixie Chicks, James Taylor) on Piano/B3. Willie Nelson’s longtime harp player, Mickey Raphael, blew harmonica alongside Al Perkins’ (Rolling Stones, Neil Young, CSNY) lonesome pedal-steel guitar. Buddy Miller and Grammy Award winner Jim Lauderdale sang harmony on the debut titled “The Week The Clocks Changed.”