The name Ben Bedford first crossed my path a couple of years ago with the release of THE HERMIT’S SPYGLASS. Unfortunately, focus elsewhere at the time denied this particular album a general look in and thus the attention probably required to give it justice. The landscape is now a little kinder for the next Ben Bedford release, which is a handy compendium of previously recorded tracks from three of his now fairly distant older albums spanning the period 2007 to 2012. Twelve tracks are packaged into the acutely titled PORTRAITS, an ideal name for a songwriter framing each song as though you are gazing at its delights in some form of musical gallery.
The merits of an original songwriter re-hashing older material can be debated, but it is an undeniable viewpoint that Bedford has chosen some fascinating compositions that actually act as a showcase for new observers to get a flavour of what he is about. A little research reveals Bedford as an acclaimed operator that probably won’t surprise a listener after a couple of spins around his narrative intuition. This is a folk singer in the storytelling tradition, not necessarily steeped in re-interpreting the past but heaven sent to use their own song writing skills to propel events, observations and recounts into the future.
The songs of Bed Bedford reach the listener in a peaceful and thoughtful state, crafted with musical guile largely in acoustic mode and sung with a sense of calming elegance. Bedford is highly astute at paving the way for the message of his songs to infuse and settle. Whether delving into personal tales from the Civil War in ‘Lincoln’s Man’ and ‘Twenty-One’, celebrating the pioneering achievement of Amelia Earhart in ‘Amelia’, to raising the plight of those committed to better the lives of themselves and others in ‘Migrant Mother’, a placid listening zone is filled with emotive musings. These probably reach a peak in ‘Land of the Shadows (For Emmett Till)’ with a classic take on one of American history’s most infamous moments.
These five and the other seven songs are lifted almost but not quite equally from the trio releases of LINCOLN’S MAN (2007), LAND OF THE SHADOWS (2009) and WHAT WE LOST (2012). Most of the tunes are lightly strummed with occasional upbeat moments as briefly experienced in ‘The Sangamon’ and the album closing piece ‘Goodbye Jack’.
Use these few words as a key to unlock the treasure trove of facets and leads that form the entwined skilful song writing of Ben Bedford. It’s PORTRAITS all round from album cover to each of the potential masterpieces waiting to be gazed upon. Now with this introduction out of the way, time to devote ear time to that 2018 release mentioned in the opening paragraph, and, yes, the three ‘tributary’ albums that supplied the luscious waters of this newly released collection.