By Henry Lipput
When I first heard the single “Sadie And The Fat Man” from Benjamin Dean Wilson’s debut album, Small Talk, I immediately thought of its similarity to the solo work of Lloyd Cole. If you read my review last year of Cole’s Pittsburgh concert and his latest album, you know how much I like his work. And I enjoyed what Wilson was doing musically and lyrically.
So I looked forward to hearing more of Wilson’s album but had to put it aside for a time. It seemed I was looking -- or rather listening -- for the wrong things. I was waiting to hear the next hook in the next song, but it didn’t come. Then it hit me: This wasn’t what he was doing. With a background in theater and films, Wilson was telling stories in his songs. And when you get to that realization, the way I did, Wilson brings a lot to the table.
Small Talk is made up of two character studies (“So Cool” and “William”): Three songs that are my favorites on the album: “Sadie And The Fat Man,” “My Wife,” and “End Of Never Again" -- recognizing my own limitations (it took a very long time for me to “get“ Dylan), more like what I’m used to hearing -- and the closing track, “Rick, I Tick Tock,” that’s more a novella than a short story.
“End Of Never Again” has a lovely, simple arrangement. It could be a scene in a movie, taking place in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, with one friend asking another: “Why don’t you remember the men who treated you better?” There’s also more than a little of the Lloyd Cole in Wilson’s vocal.
I especially like the lyrics and the sound of “My Wife.” Telling the story of a life spent with another, “It started out as nothing and grew to be more / I’ll hold your hand as you walk through my door.” There’s marriage and then there are kids (they grow up so fast!): “They start out in darkness / now they wear suits and ties.” There's more of the simple and lovely with a sweet harmonica break.
The last song on the album is “Rick, I Tick Tock” which clocks in at 14 minutes. Made up of various bits that tell a story, in structure it’s not far from the Abbey Road medley or Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant.” It’s a musical drama in three acts that, in its movement from one character or scene to another, reminded me of Virginia Woolf’s use of cinematic techniques in her novel Mrs. Dalloway.
Hearing this album has turned out to be a welcome change for me. There’s a lot to listen to and enjoy in the words that Benjamin Dean Wilson has put into his songs.
Small Talk is now available on Tapete Records.
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