‘Listening’ is Ben Taylor’s latest studio outing, his fourth, and follows on from 2008s ‘The Legend of Kung Folk’.
This album may have been a while in the making, but is all the better for it. Ben is ably assisted here by Larry Ciancia on drums, Ben Thomas on bass and David Saw on guitar. David also co-writes most of the music with Ben Taylor.
Ben has an excellent musical pedigree, bearing in mind he's the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, and as a result considered other careers before music. Luckily he did plump for music in the end, and here has produced an album of excellent folk and pop ballads with some clever, introspective lyrics.
The opening title track swings along nicely with Ben’s acoustic guitar very much to the fore, and a nice line in songwriting revolving all around self-discovery: -“I get the feeling like I can’t go on here/ How much longer? How much longer?/ Oh, Believing that I don’t belong here, How much longer? Tell me/ I walk so far but I get near, so much talking, the point disappears/ So it’s only when listening it comes through clear I’ve been listening.”
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The musical style varies throughout the album – for example, the love song ‘Giulia’ is an almost country style romp. This showcases some fine writing by Ben when tackling the subject of the ups and downs of a relationship: - “I wish I had a nickel for every day you cry, or else every time I try to show you/ Coz something I could give you for all the days and nights/ That way we wouldn’t have to fight, to get through/ No-one could say we didn’t try. I owe you more than just goodbye.”
What I liked most about this album was the upbeat joy that runs right through it. Even from a cursory listen can tell from that Ben and his band took a real enjoyment in recording this, so much so that this enthusiasm infuses virtually all the songs on the album.
Ben is currently touring this album in the States, as it was released over there last year. Hopefully he will tour over here soon. Certainly, this is not an album that is easy to dismiss.
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