
New! How's your Italian?http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/3814/review_detail/?review_id=35795
Or is your French better?
http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/3814/review_detail/?review_id=35799
Smother.net:
You didn’t have to read out the fact that Ben Johnson is a vocal coach for the touring production of “Lion King” to know how good of a singer he is. It’s made quite evident in dramatic flair throughout his “Wait” EP. His piano playing is equally dramatic and is typified with rescinding melodies that he harmonizes over vocally. The rest of the instrumentation, while sparse, is refined and tweaked to allow the focus to be on the vocals first and piano second. Chicago’s coffeehouses better be well prepared.Pastandpresent.com:
Ben Johnson is a classically trained piano-player, but on this six-track EP there's really not much classical music to wet your appetite about. Instead there's a whole lot American-sounding singer/songwriter stuff, but instead of having the guitar being the driving force, as in most singer/songwriter cases these days, Ben Johnson naturally lets his piano-playing be the main thing alongside his vocals, which turns out to be this CD's saving grace actually. This guy has got talent - no doubt about that. Now the only question is why he uses lipstick and writes stuff on his face?Demo Universe:
Ben Johnson wears ruby red lipstick on the cover of his debut EP, his CD's title seemingly carved into his cheek with a knife. So you know right off, the guy's into drama. And drama is delivered in spades on Johnson's adventurous and arresting curtain-raiser. Ben channels Nina Simone on the opener, "Most Of All," accompanying himself on a piano that's deliberately in need of tuning. Johnson's keys are well-tempered — but he is not — on the next two tracks, "Higher Than The Rock" and "Let It All Come Down On Me," whose dark urgency summons ol' Nick Cave to mind. "Not Enough" is the catchiest number here, but its pop roots are torn up by weird, suffocated guitars. Idiosyncratic production also distinguishes "There Is No Pain," with its the tar-covered bass line recalling PJ Harvey's Dry period. Ben bows out on a down note with "The World Without You In It," a mournful, intimate song that Thom Yorke might have penned in an especially glum moment. Keep an eye out for this young man.Collected Sounds:
Ben Johnson is a young man blessed with a strong voice and some powerful songs.
Raw and bruised opener "Most of All" sets us off to a fine start. "Higher than the Rock" becomes a male answer to Tori Amos sound. Johnson plays the piano with skill and precision. "Not Enough" winds a simple melody against a sad lyric as the song becomes a strong moment. Ben Johnson's debut is great.