Ben Reed - Bandaged 

While the name Ben Reed may not be one you are familiar with, you most likely have heard him play, as the multi-instrumentalist has recorded and performed with a multitude of artists including Peter Gabriel, David Byrne and Frank Ocean (he is also a member of Ocean’s live band).  Due to the pandemic, for his most recent solo album Bandaged (his fourth, not including last years’ covers album with his daughter Miranda) he approached things differently, writing in more of a singer songwriter style.  Once he had the songs written he brought in numerous musicians, including Jimmy Hastings (Caravan), Ross Stanley (Steve Howe Trio, Trevor Horn, Simply Red) and legendary pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole to help him complete the recording process.  The resulting album is a gorgeous, at time very melancholy, collection of tracks with elements of rock, jazz and funk along with some folk and prog.  The musicianship throughout is outstanding and the production makes for a beautiful sounding disc.  Kicking things off is the instrumental “Plea”, which starts with a really nice, laid-back, thumping bass, then adds keyboard washes and horns to create a easygoing jazz groove with subtle hints of prog before bursting open with the addition of organ resulting in a joyous finale.  Next up is “Tale Of Cleopatra”, an extremely catchy track with a funky jazz rock groove and some great vocal harmonies giving it a really strong Steely Dan feel.  This is a definite album highlight and with Reed playing everything as well as contributing the vocals, really shows just how talented he is.  “Tangled Branches” is a gorgeous track with strong, very melancholy, British folk sound enhanced by Rachel Hayler’s flute.  With Reed on classical guitar, keys and telecaster, the instrumental “No Arms No Legs No Body At All” is a subdued track that is haunting and moody and would work fantastically in a movie soundtrack.  “Backward Glance”, which features some great guitar work from Reed, and “Everything That Matters”, both have a nice laid-back groove that at times bring to mind The Alan Parsons Project.  Taking things in a totally different direction, “I’ve Got Chains” is a best described as Steely Dan playing with Devo.  It starts off as an upbeat jazzy instrumental that has an aggressive, jerky, almost manic, feel, then slows down in intensity but still maintains that same sense of frenzy.  The very pensive “Dwindled” is a beautiful instrumental featuring Reed on classical guitar, and is enhanced by his gentle Telecaster nuances and subtle organ fills from Laura Groves on the Roland.  Rounding out the album are a couple more tracks with hints of Steely Dan. “Chapter Of Risk”, starts with a gentle jazzy groove before turning dark and haunting at the end, while “Smiling” is an upbeat and sunny cut that provides the perfect ending to the CD.  Bandaged is a highly recommended disc that easily sits near the top of my list of favorite albums so far this year

(Esoteric Recordings)