Ben Poole’s had so much praise since arriving on the British blues scene over half a decade ago that, if on the receiving end, even Kanye West might blush. Hell, even venerable grump Jeff Beck loves his playing. Although his exceptional guitar work is worthy of that huge acclaim, here it can’t disguise some significant flaws that make his latest album, ‘Time Has Come’, a frustrating listen.
You aren’t allowed to take your car on the road until you pass your driving test, and young blues guitarists really need to undergo a similar examination before they’re deemed microphone ready. Too many decide to front their own band when, quite simply, they aren’t good enough yet.
Poole’s vocals aren’t unpleasant, but they’re not strong enough to convincingly deliver the material on this record. While some call his style confessional or intimate, he either sounds like a timid Aynsley Lister or an under the weather Jonny Lang, barely whispering at times. When he does get more raucous it’s gruff, flat and a little lacking in character.
His soulful crooning, meanwhile, is too thin on Whoever Invented Love, siphoning energy from the tune as he doesn’t summon the requisite emotional expressiveness or sustain notes at the end of a line. Producer Wayne Proctor partially masks this with backing vocals – courtesy of the excellent StevieNimmo - but there is a sense of smoke and mirrors.
If you’re Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen, crafting great stories and wonderful lyrics almost renders any vocal shortcomings irrelevant. Poole falls short on that front, though, and his songs occupy familiar heartbreak territory without offering anything new: “Tell me which part of this world do I start, to search for the seamstress to stitch up my heart.”
It’s a shame because there’s a lot of tasty ingredients in this pie, with flavours of soul, country and pop weaving in and out over the course of some very well written songs that highlight his maturing compositional skills.
The choruses of R&B ballad You’ve Changed, which echoes Lenny Kravitz, and the perky Nashville twang of If You Want To Play With My Heart ooze breezy melodic class, while opener Lying To Me, with its wah-inflected simmering menace, is a cracking tune. The centrepiece is the slow burning title track, though, which occupies Sloe Gin territory courtesy of an exceptional solo that subtly builds before taking flight.
Any fan of brilliant fretwork will be bowled over by the precision and feel on display throughout ‘Time Has Come’, with Poole perfectly complementing, and never overshadowing, the songs. The closing conversation with Lister on a cover of Jeff Healey’s I Think I Love You Too Much is a chirpy back and forth that will be lapped up by six-string geeks.
Poole is a massive talent, but doesn’t possess a strong enough arsenal to thrive as a solo artist right now. If he were a sideman and co-writer in a band, or working with a first class singer-songwriter like Lynne Jackaman, the former St Jude vocalist, he could make the kind of mark his guitar playing deserves.
Ben Poole Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed May 11 2016 - CHELTENHAM Vonnies
Thu May 12 2016 - CHISLEHURST Beaverwood Club
Fri May 13 2016 - SOUTHAMPTON Talking Heads
Sat May 14 2016 - HARTLEPOOL Supporters Club
Thu May 19 2016 - FARNHAM Maltings
Fri May 20 2016 - NEWBURY Arlington Sports Centre
Sat May 21 2016 - DERBY Flowerpot
Sun May 22 2016 - SHEFFIELD Greystones
Wed October 19 2016 - WOLVERHAMPTON Robin
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