Back in 1986, the estimable singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben Vaughn cut his first record, and it was only available on vinyl. Compact disc technology had arrived, but was initially much more of a high-end situation. While Vaughn’s music has been encoded into many CDs since, his new album, issued in connection with Record Store Day, is again a vinyl-only proposition. And it’s a solid fit for the format as the 11 songs are permeated with the sort of approachable warmth and assurance of style that is the mark of true Americana. The World of Ben Vaughn is available Saturday April 23 through Relay Shack Records.
The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn, recorded by the Ben Vaughn Combo (a few years before its leader went solo) and released by Restless Records (Star Records in Canada and Making Waves in the UK), shares its name with the man’s long-running radio show, which dishes sounds across the spectrum of what The Blasters’ once delineated as American Music, running the gamut from early R&R and teen pop to blues and R&B to C&W to the grey areas out on the fringes and deep in the in-between.
It’s worthy of note that Vaughn’s interests do span beyond geographical borders. However, The World of Ben Vaughn is a platter that’s positively oozing with the essence of the USA’s mid-20th century musical glories (with a welcome absence of the grandiose), its songs delivered in a wonderfully relaxed manner as all the instruments were played by Vaughn himself.
Working in the record’s favor is Vaughn steadfastly acting his age. This isn’t the sound of some cat striving to prove he hasn’t “lost it.” It’s just a bunch of sturdy and savvy songs by a guy who’s doing it with nary a hang up. Album opener “In My Own Reality” has a country feel, but rather than honky-tonk twang it’s pleasantly strummed a la Steve Goodman, at least until the end, which gets a little, uh, cosmic, in the best way possible.
“Wayne Fontana Was Wrong” underscores Vaughn’s acumen by combining its smart lyrical sentiments with sounds that blend the Sir Douglas Quintet and The Beau Brummels (but overall, a smidge more frat rock). Then, “Blind Alley” redirects into the bluesy with a thrust that’s more than a touch reminiscent of Mose Allison (but sans piano).
Next, “Asking For a Friend” swings back into pop-folky-country mode, hovering around the neighborhood of a wounded heart Tom T. Hall. There’s a very subtle hint of strangeness to the song that contrasts with the almost NRBQ-like pop angle of “You,” and then “New Jersey Rock n Roll” saunters into the scheme but without the strained authenticity that damages too many homages to pop-rock classicism (Garden State or otherwise).
It helps that Vaughn’s singing lacks a weathered edge, instead coming off smooth but not sophisto in a manner that’s a tad similar to Ira Kaplan (speaking of Jersey R&R). This really comes through in the lively “No Count,” but with the spare instrumentation (just bass, drumming, harmonica, and voice). “You’re Gonna Wish Love Was Never Invented” is fuller, with an organ sound that brings Billy Swan to mind. The cut also has some of the record’s zestiest guitar playing.
It’s with the leisurely chime-strum of “Feet” that Vaughn hits his most accessible, while “Deep in the weeds” throws a curve with some banjo, though the Americana angle is augmented by the song’s structural similarity to ’50s R&B (I can’t shake thoughts of The Coasters’ “Searchin’”). And it’s in “Nobody Likes a Show Off” that Vaughn’s words nod towards Randy Newman, but with guitar that suggests early ’70s Ry Cooder. It closes The World of Ben Vaughn with panache, the album short and sweet and built for repeated listening.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
