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Thursday, August 28, 2008

CD Review: Ben Senterfit - Liberty


Ben Senterfit - Liberty
2008, CueZone Records

Ben Senterfit has performed on better than 20 albums since hitting national spotlight as a member of The Wayfarers in the late 1980's. His CueZone Records has been a prolific supporter of Indie music since its inception in 2000. After all of this it is somewhat surprising that 2008's Liberty is only his second solo album. On Liberty, Senterfit fields an eclectic mix of singer/songwriter and rock and roll tunes.

Liberty is a hit or miss album. The songs that worked for me really worked, and the ones that did not I found myself wanting to skip over on subsequent listens. Generally in the review process when I find such songs I make myself listen to them several more times to make sure I am not missing something (sometimes a song will grow on you). With Ben Senterfit the initial reaction seems to be the right one. On balance, I really liked most of the album. Tollman is my favorite song on the entire disc. There is a complete Dylan vibe here, and the song takes on a life of its own. Liberty is built around a lively bass line and some Andy Summers style guitar work. Other highlights include Everyday Come and Streets Of New Mexico.

Liberty is a smart and musically diverse album. When it works, it's a great record. On the songs that didn't work for me the skip button ended up being my best friend. Senterfit is obviously a very talented musician with some strong songwriting skills. I really got into five of the eight tunes here, and I imagine the album will find a solid following. Check out Ben Senterfit - he's worth your time.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Ben Senterfit at http://www.bensenterfit.com/. Liberty is not yet for sale according to the CueZone Records website, but you can listen to tracks on Senterfit’s website and you can even download the lead track, Tollman.

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