erin benjamin
Erin Benjamin
Baby Hugh Productions
1996
8 tracks
A clever, eclectic mix of folk, jazz, pop and a smattering of other genres, this release serves as what it was clearly intended to be — a showcase for Benjamin’s considerable talent, both as a singer and as a writer.
As a songwriter, Benjamin, at 27 years of age, is a literate, intelligent lyricist. Her lyrics reflect some of her early influences by Canadian poet/songwriters such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, as well as her own experiences as a musician and writer, and her university education as a performer, having attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University in Montreal.
As a singer and composer/performer of songs, her influences are perhaps still too close to the surface. Listening to Benjamin, one feels compelled during different songs, and sometimes different sections of songs, to draw comparisons to any of a plethora of singer/songwriters who have clearly been influences. While Benjamin has a strong folk sound, like Holly Cole she often swings into a jazz mode reminiscent of Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and other fifties trend setters.
Joni Mitchell pervades every song on this release. The more jazz-oriented sections are redolent of Holly Cole with some brief allusions to Roberta Flack and other icons of the sixties and seventies. At the same time, Benjamin is clearly an artist of her time, sounding much like a number of contemporary folk artists and groups to be heard in Kingston, most notably Kevin Head, The Fencesitters, Julia Propeller, and especially Night Sun’s Ellen Hamilton. Along with Hamilton, Benjamin was one of the four winners of the "Songs From the Heart" song writing competition to be awarded a showcase spot at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference this year.
An interesting digression is a cut titled "She Is A River intro," which is the only instrumental piece on the CD and which in fact bears no obvious relationship to the song which follows. One is forced to guess that this was one of those fortunate accidents which happens during recording and that, rather than include a seemingly random instrumental, Benjamin felt compelled to make an excuse for including it.
The song "Just To Be Alone" is a wonderful exercise in versatility, blending genres and styles with smooth transitions between folk, Kevin Head style country, and cool jazz with professional skill. While the overall quality of this release is quite balanced, this is perhaps one of the two songs which are the most successful artistically. One is hard put to decide which would be the other. Different listeners at different times might choose any of these songs to fill the position.
For those interested in a high quality, eclectic blend of songs by an artist on the way up, this new release by Erin Benjamin is well worth buying. For those who want to hear the fully developed talent and artistic persona of Erin Benjamin, the next CD is well worth waiting for.
Also read a review of Erin Benjamin's 1998 release, Monster in my Heart. Those interested in more information on Erin Benjamin can find it at the Baby Hugh Productions web site.
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