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* what they're saying *
Brent Bennett & The Movers, The Movers Are in Town: Nashville Quality
(And that’s the city in Tennessee, buddy, not the Southern Indiana tourist trap!)
by George Fish
(And that’s the city in Tennessee, buddy, not the Southern Indiana tourist trap!)
by George Fish
Brent Bennett and the Movers’ The Movers Are In Town is a solid CD of eleven original
songs written either by Bennett himself or by Bennett with Rob York that run the gamut of
human emotions, well-crafted songs performed very well that evoke the golden age of
country music’s master composer/performers such as Johnny Cash, June Carter (who
wrote Cash’s masterful “Ring of Fire”), Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Kris
Kristofferson. The songs move in range from the exuberant “Mama’s Dance Hall
Barbecue Barn” to the darkly moody “Two Dollar Pistol,” Bennett’s portrayal of a desperate
man on his journey into the rings of Dante’s hell. Plenty of songs here, as de rigueur, of
trouble women and rueful love, with the important proviso that all rise above the standard
clichés and stereotyped images of pop-country music to demonstrate forcefully that even
the standard, the staple, still has plenty of room for originality and the exercise of the poet’
s muse. In this regard, “Cold December Day,” on the woman leaving her man, and the two
in tandem of the woman-who’s-less-than-meets-the-eye, “Movie of the Week” and “She’s
Artificial,” stand out, while the rueful “I Was Just Like You (To Someone Just Like Me)” is a
beautifully-told tale of love’s tables turning. Ending The Movers Are In Town is a populist
anthem, “I’m an American Man,” a fit celebration of the working person.
Brent Bennett and the Movers—Bennett, lead vocals and multi-tracked guitars and
keyboards; W.D. Spade, bass and backing vocals; and Matt Allen, drums—do a
powerhouse job of handling the musical chores, creating a vibrant music that partakes not
just of country, but also blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and classic rock that is all of these, and yet
none of these particularly: just good, down-home music that evokes comparisons, but
never apes them. It’s an exciting music, and full of surprises—such as the subdued
heavy-metal feel of “Long Black Thunder,” played the way heavy metal deserves to be
played, straightforward guitar riffing without the gonzo pyrotechnics, which reminded this
writer of Deep Purple at its best (which was most of Deep Purple). Bennett’s lead guitar
licks are always appropriate: well-crafted, well thought-out, not sparse, but with not a
single extraneous note either, and no flash for mere flash’s sake. Brent Bennett and the
Movers’ The Movers Are in Town simply stands out, and properly joins Bennett’s two
earlier, also masterful CDs, Brent Bennett and Rob York’s Crossing the Country and
Bennett’s own Under My Own Power.
Brent Bennett and the Movers is just an excellent band playing excellent, truly original
music, period, and Bennett and the Movers are well deserving of greater exposure (which
they are getting, all too typically, for truly paradigm American artists—in Europe and
Australia), and this writer urges Bennett to get movin’ and make sure this CD gets heard
where it needs to be heard, and not just confined to the Central Indiana environs. That
means get it somehow to A&R persons in Nashville, Memphis and L.A., get it to the notice
of Bloomington radio station WTTS (the only decent pop radio station that’s heard in Indy),
find a distributor that will get it into stores and markets where urbane country-blues-rock is
going to get a serious listen. In short, move this sucker, because it deserves it! Because
the CD and the band really deserve it, and are too little known. After all our one-shot local
stars who got national exposure only to quickly blow it and disappear as meteorically as
they rose—the Wright Brothers, Henry Lee Summer, and the Why Store—turn the spotlight
on a local band that really deserves to be in the light and on the national stage—Brent
Bennett and the Movers!
Freelance writer George Fish has written for such publications as Against the Current,
Socialism & Democracy and Indiana Blues Monthly . Click here (or here, then go to the
Opinion Page) to read more of his reviews and writings.
songs written either by Bennett himself or by Bennett with Rob York that run the gamut of
human emotions, well-crafted songs performed very well that evoke the golden age of
country music’s master composer/performers such as Johnny Cash, June Carter (who
wrote Cash’s masterful “Ring of Fire”), Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Kris
Kristofferson. The songs move in range from the exuberant “Mama’s Dance Hall
Barbecue Barn” to the darkly moody “Two Dollar Pistol,” Bennett’s portrayal of a desperate
man on his journey into the rings of Dante’s hell. Plenty of songs here, as de rigueur, of
trouble women and rueful love, with the important proviso that all rise above the standard
clichés and stereotyped images of pop-country music to demonstrate forcefully that even
the standard, the staple, still has plenty of room for originality and the exercise of the poet’
s muse. In this regard, “Cold December Day,” on the woman leaving her man, and the two
in tandem of the woman-who’s-less-than-meets-the-eye, “Movie of the Week” and “She’s
Artificial,” stand out, while the rueful “I Was Just Like You (To Someone Just Like Me)” is a
beautifully-told tale of love’s tables turning. Ending The Movers Are In Town is a populist
anthem, “I’m an American Man,” a fit celebration of the working person.
Brent Bennett and the Movers—Bennett, lead vocals and multi-tracked guitars and
keyboards; W.D. Spade, bass and backing vocals; and Matt Allen, drums—do a
powerhouse job of handling the musical chores, creating a vibrant music that partakes not
just of country, but also blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and classic rock that is all of these, and yet
none of these particularly: just good, down-home music that evokes comparisons, but
never apes them. It’s an exciting music, and full of surprises—such as the subdued
heavy-metal feel of “Long Black Thunder,” played the way heavy metal deserves to be
played, straightforward guitar riffing without the gonzo pyrotechnics, which reminded this
writer of Deep Purple at its best (which was most of Deep Purple). Bennett’s lead guitar
licks are always appropriate: well-crafted, well thought-out, not sparse, but with not a
single extraneous note either, and no flash for mere flash’s sake. Brent Bennett and the
Movers’ The Movers Are in Town simply stands out, and properly joins Bennett’s two
earlier, also masterful CDs, Brent Bennett and Rob York’s Crossing the Country and
Bennett’s own Under My Own Power.
Brent Bennett and the Movers is just an excellent band playing excellent, truly original
music, period, and Bennett and the Movers are well deserving of greater exposure (which
they are getting, all too typically, for truly paradigm American artists—in Europe and
Australia), and this writer urges Bennett to get movin’ and make sure this CD gets heard
where it needs to be heard, and not just confined to the Central Indiana environs. That
means get it somehow to A&R persons in Nashville, Memphis and L.A., get it to the notice
of Bloomington radio station WTTS (the only decent pop radio station that’s heard in Indy),
find a distributor that will get it into stores and markets where urbane country-blues-rock is
going to get a serious listen. In short, move this sucker, because it deserves it! Because
the CD and the band really deserve it, and are too little known. After all our one-shot local
stars who got national exposure only to quickly blow it and disappear as meteorically as
they rose—the Wright Brothers, Henry Lee Summer, and the Why Store—turn the spotlight
on a local band that really deserves to be in the light and on the national stage—Brent
Bennett and the Movers!
Freelance writer George Fish has written for such publications as Against the Current,
Socialism & Democracy and Indiana Blues Monthly . Click here (or here, then go to the
Opinion Page) to read more of his reviews and writings.
Classic rock feel, much like Cream. The song starts with a Clapton-esk guitar fill, with a
solid backbone from the bass and drums. The vocals follow the same style, like a tom
petty or frampton. It's solid song writing for early 70's rock. It's nothing new, but I bet
they're the best bar band in IN. It doesn't get much solider, from the back-up vocals, to the
guitar fills and solos, to the rhythm section that you could set a watch to.
Normally, when I'm checking out a dive bar outside of the city, when the cover band starts
playing originals the room gets empty and people sit down, but these guys could play
originals and keep the crowd interested.
solid backbone from the bass and drums. The vocals follow the same style, like a tom
petty or frampton. It's solid song writing for early 70's rock. It's nothing new, but I bet
they're the best bar band in IN. It doesn't get much solider, from the back-up vocals, to the
guitar fills and solos, to the rhythm section that you could set a watch to.
Normally, when I'm checking out a dive bar outside of the city, when the cover band starts
playing originals the room gets empty and people sit down, but these guys could play
originals and keep the crowd interested.
Brent Bennett & The Movers, "I Was Just Like You"
by Cobra, Brooklyn, NY (cobra.MusicNation.com)
by Cobra, Brooklyn, NY (cobra.MusicNation.com)