Written
by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin
The
release The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon from Ben Brookes might sport a
relatively unwieldy title, but there’s not an ounce of fat on even one of the
songs and Brookes’ vocal performance is one of the overall best on a studio
recording in the last two decades. His songwriting skills are equally strong
both musically and lyrically – Brookes’ words often reveal more than they say
and listeners can glean his meaning from much the material while still being
able to walk away with meanings of their own. Producer and former Badfinger
member Mark Healey shepherds these songs in such a way that the sonic blueprint
brings out the best in each one and certainly invests his voice with warmth and
enough edge to captivate any listener. Another former Badfinger member Joey
Molland makes significant musical contributions to the release and he’s joined
by equally important contributors’ keyboardist Greg Inhofer and drummer Michael
Bland.
The
subtle light and shade personifying much of his songwriting mood finds its
earliest expression with the opener “I Wanna Go Home”. Much of The Motor Car
& The Weather Balloon is defined by acoustic guitars mixed with a dollop of
lead electric guitar added for good measure and come off sometimes as slightly
super charged folk rock numbers. Other times they recall Brookes’ obvious
influences like The Beatles and some not so quite obvious influences like Cat
Stevens’ work from his prime years. The opener falls into the second of those
two types and has a distinct English presence all the more marvelously
considering the album was, essentially, brought to life in a midwestern
American studio. Other effective tunes in the acoustic vein are the lyrical
wide-lens on “Integration (Not Segregation)”, “Asleep in Galilee”, and “Before
Sunlight”. The final two of the aforementioned trio are among the finest
moments on the album and will likely hold a place in any set list he performs
for the rest of his career. The last track, “Before Sunlight”, is an especially
stunning tune thanks to its powerful vocal melody and the resulting performance
from Brookes, but “Asleep in Galilee” has inexorable internal movement that
will enchant a number of listeners and a winning vocal from Brookes.
The
second half of the album finds Brookes stretching out a little and making the
electric guitar more a focal point of his recordings. “Stories in the Rain” and
the second to last song on the album “Somewhere Around Eight” are both
excellent numbers with appropriately physical guitar and especially passionate
vocals from Brookes. The folky vibe mentioned earlier makes its presence felt
for a final time on the song “Siren” and the closer “Shackles” mixes a
relatively downbeat lyrical message with some more of the bright
instrumentation that defines the release. There’s some particularly evocative
lead guitar scattered throughout the second half of “Shackles” that helps make
it even more ideal of a closer. The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon is one of
the most complete rock and pop releases in the last two decades and it is no
stretch to say that Ben Brookes is poised to establish himself as one of the
genre’s more formidable talents.
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