¡LA Baby! is a short sumptuous collection of superlative songs from Texas-raised LA-based mover, shaker, stalwart and scene activist Ben Reddell. While there has been plenty of Ben Reddell Band shows over the years, releases have been been a little thinner on the ground and the only one traced back is a 2012 EP. This 2021 effort falls into that grey area between EP and short album with the eventual set up of six tracks plus a bonus single available at the same time puts this release into the latter category.
The bonus single 'Hey' has been out and about for everybody to listen to since the spring and is a little different to the six tracks that form the new longer release, This extended collection keeps you hooked in for its 25 minute duration and unveils as a set of top tunes skirting country, wider roots and a rougher rocky input. Among the stand alone content are six tracks that you can quite easily package into three compartments, not a thing that an artist regularly courts, but sometimes the reception can alter the intent.
For a little strap line, you can always consider the path from mid 70s Eagles to The Mavericks via George Jones. The opening two tracks are rockier and edgier than the rest with guitar, keys and rock 'n' roll coming to the fore. 'My Baby' is a straight up feel good roller where an amicable gentle number breezes through an accessible exchange of guitar and keys. It is followed by 'Cocaine' where the aggressive tempo is raised a touch and you come out with a feeling of drastic action for drastic times. This is a track which builds through the play with ear worm chorus repetition sealing the deal at the end.
As soon as Reddell has rocked us up, he follows up with a couple of country gems, one primed for the play lists and as good as any genre piece picked up this year. 'Twelve Bar Blues' is a pure dance room shuffle mingling some pedal steel bliss with a slice of dreamy romanticism. Prior to that 'Tumbleweed' is the conduit from the rocky stuff to country mode. A little bit of wanderlust mixes with some vivid imagination in a temperate effort that appears to be personal from the titbits supplied with the release.
We end with a pair of foot tapping accordion driven efforts that you could place anywhere from Cajun soaked Louisiana to the Tex-Mex border or even the Latino quarters of Southern California. It is tough to split the merit of 'If You Lover Her and Need Her' and 'Good Thing'. So don't bother to, just enjoy their feel good vibes and celebrate this super effort from the Ben Reddell Band.
Not a second of the template the band has chosen to frequent is wasted. ¡LA Baby! serves up a simple set of accessible tunes right on the mark of an eager ear active in this genre radar. Everything is in place with just one final thing to do - add 'Twelve Bar Blues' to those country playlists. Maybe the accolade will tempt Ben Reddell and his band to record again in the near future.
