It was on a Thursday night in May of last year that Ben Hammond took the stage at Stone Mountain Arts Center with audio and video engineers on hand. The result is a CD/DVD set, “Solo at Stone Mt. Arts Center.”
The CD part of “Live” includes five songs from Hammond’s 2008 album, “Reasonably Honest,” six new tunes and two covers.
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“When I’m Supposed To” shows off his talent as a human beatbox along with his magic pedal that loops in layers of his vocals. The other instrument you’ll hear on “Live” is Hammond’s acoustic guitar, but don’t think for a second this is a standard-issue singer-songwriter deal. Hammond’s far from it, and he’s cut from soul-pop cloth, a fabric that includes rock, folk and even jazz sensibilities.
“Except for You,” also from the “Reasonably Honest” CD, is a love song that’s been infused with the hearty sunshine of Hammond’s voice: “I wanna kiss you underwater, come up for air / But there’s nothing there — except for you.” Add to those lyrics a little beatbox action and first-rate guitar.
“Wintergreens” is an instrumental track on the “Live” CD, and it’s a stirring piece of acoustic guitar. My only criticism is that it’s too short at just more than two minutes. All was forgiven when I heard Hammond’s terrific cover of Flight of the Conchord’s “Most Beautiful Girl.”
The DVD has six tracks directed and edited by Mike Dana (“Requiem for a Dream”). Five songs are from the CD, and there’s a bonus a cappella version of The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With a Girl.” I was nervous when I saw he was treading into those waters, but was pleasantly surprised that Hammond put a groovy spin on an already great song.
Hammond is a versatile musician who writes memorable originals, delivers when he decides to cover someone, and uses his guitar, voice and gadgets to create a sound that you want to keep hearing.
The CD is available at www.benhammondmusic.com, on iTunes and at cdbaby.com. Buy it locally at Bull Moose in Scarborough and Portland.
Aimsel Ponti is a Portland freelance writer. Contact her at:
aimselponti@yahoo.com
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