Ben Poole – time Has Come
Time Has Come. It's not just the title of Ben Poole's new studio album but also the consensus of the press, punters and star players who have caught this British gunslinger on his rise from hot-tip to headline act. Already, Ben has been dubbed ‘f**king amazing’ by Jeff Beck, ‘really great’ by Gary Moore, ‘ferocious’ by Guitarist and ‘one to watch’ by The Blues. Ben has moved fast since he burst out of the Brighton Institute Of Modern Music onto the post-millennial scene. We've had the breakthrough debut album (2013's Let's Go Upstairs). We've had the rocket-fuelled live release (2014's Live At The Royal Albert Hall). Now, Time Has Come fuses both sides of Ben's musical personality, capturing the gritty velocity of his shows in a studio context. In an age of sterile, computer-driven productions, Time Has Come is an album that lives and breathes. Recorded at Nottinghamshire's Superfly Studios in late 2015, the sessions found Ben's core band tracking nose-to-nose in the live room, with producer Wayne Proctor and engineer Andy Banfield catching the sparks, and an anything-goes ethos spurring the collective to new heights. Given Ben's reputation, you'll come expecting guitar fireworks, and won't be disappointed, from the wah-soaked opener Lying To Me, through the nimble rock n roll picking of Stay At Mine, to the impulsive call-and-response outro solo of I Think I Love You Too Much. Time Has Come also features the cream of Europe's blues guitar players: Aynsley Lister, Henrik Freischlader & Todd Sharpville. Add to this wonderful backing vocals by Stevie Nimmo and you have a real quality album. Time Has Come is the sound of an artist whose time is now and an album that defies you to take it off your stereo.