Quickly Becomes a Welcome Friend
author: Sing Out! Magazine - Summer 2008 Issue
"This is one truly easygoing, congenial and engaging album. With guitarists Rich Currier and Dan Dameron as nearly all the support, it's really lean. Jason Bennett's songs feel gentle despite the turmoil often within them. The one cover is Bob Dylan's "Shooting Star," an excellently chosen complement to the originals. An aura of wisdom and lessons learned permeates the set. From the opener "Too Damn Fast," a pitch for taking an easy pace of life, to the closer, "Daddy's Hand" for his son, the album quickly becomes a welcome friend. Nice to make your acquaintance, Jason."
SING OUT MAGAZINE
Summer, 2008 issue
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Singer/songwriter, www.abbyparks.com
author: Abby Parks
The underlying theme of Jason Bennett's latest album is summarized in the title, which seems to echo his desire for simplicity, reflected in tracks like "Too Damn Fast," "Less Is More," and "Too Much Paperwork." "Daddy's Hand" is a sweet lullaby-style ballad in which he advises his son to "take it slow, drink it all in." And he tells of his own sense of urgency that his son is growing up too fast. As he tells his child to savor time, the land, nature, he is striving to do the same himself. Track one "Too Damn Fast" starts with thunder and rain accompanied by a deep western guitar track with lilting steel guitar lines woven in. The effect of the music underlying Jason's gentle and melodic voice is soothing, slow, dream-like. "Too damn fast, too damn fast, someone slow it down and make it last. . . " is the quiet cry of this song, and the effect is achieved. Bennett gets in touch with nature and love in songs like "Shooting Star" and "Fog Rolling In," both songs you'd like to hear him sing under the stars in front of a campfire. "Too Much Paperwork" is more deliberate in its message. He decries paperwork, noise, filth, in a track with a guitar effect on the lead that's noisy and electronic, echoing the meaning of the words. Very cool tune here. Tracks in the album are supported by guitar, steel guitar, harmonica, and Jason's artful folk voice with a touch of twang. Listening in is like taking an excursion into the mountains, drinking in all that you can, and leaving with a sense of having found what's most important in life. I'd recommend this album in a heartbeat!
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