Ben Lee — Quarter Century Classix (Nov. 22, 2019)
♦ Teen indie~popový zpěvák 90. let si ve svých dospělých letech udržel své lo~fi kouzlo. You and I are Ben Lee. Musician. Producer. Professional Adventurer. Mischief~Maker. Contrarian. Believer in dreams. Cheeky bastard.
Editorial Reviews
♦ In January 2019 I found myself stuck in a Chicago hotel room during the Polar Vortex. I was performing there with my duo Radnor & Lee over a few nights when temperatures dropped, leaving me unable to do much outside my hotel room for 4 days. Chicago is a city that holds a special history for me, and I found myself spending a good chunk of time staring out my hotel window, reflecting on my first trip there in 1993 to record my debut solo album andpaw Would at Idful Studios with Brad Wood. But more than the details of that trip, I was struck by how vividly memories started flooding back to me of being a 15 year old mega fan of music, and in particular, indie rock. I LIVED for the records that I loved and the bands who made them. I’m not sure you are ever a fan of bands the way you can be as a teenager. cred. I started re~listening to some of my favorite songs from that period in that hotel room, by the Beat Happening, Pavement, Fugazi, The Breeders, Guided by Voices. It struck me as crazy that these songs and the feelings that accompanied them were now over 25 years old. It started seeming odd to me that for some reason, indie rock hasn’t been canonized the same way 60s and 70s rock has. After all, Dinosaur Jr were my Led Zeppelin, Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead and Built to Spill were my Steve Miller Band. These were my classics! I always travel with my portable studio gear, and I immediately sat down and started learning and recording a collection of my favorite songs. I spent my 4 days of the 2019 Polar Vortex creating the blueprint for what would become Century Classix. When I got home to LA, I invited my friends Julianna Barwick, William Tyler and Mary Lattimore to my home studio to add their magic to my recordings as I knew they grew up in reverence of the same records I did. These three genius musicians became th can hear framing these covers and I am eternally grateful for their talent and generosity. Later, Maria Taylor, Mike Watt, Petra Haden and Joey Waronker all showed up to play too. To some people these songs are just footnotes in pop culture history. But to me, they are the essence my own personal history. I wanted to make this record a tribute to these bands, to these songs, and to the irreversible way music can touch and transform the life of young person. I hope you enjoy Quarter Century Classix. — Ben Lee
Birth name: Benjamin Michael Lee
Born: 11 September 1978, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Recording Location: Ben’s home in Laurel Canyon, CA
Album release: November 22, 2019
Record Label: New West Records
Duration: 50:06
Tracks:
01 Web in Front 2:21
02 Blueprint 3:49
03 Divine Hammer 4:26
04 Car 2:40
05 Sugar Kane 4:48
06 Get Me 4:45
07 In the Mouth a Desert 3:28
08 Goldheart Mountain Top Queen Directory 1:51
09 Speeding Motorcycle 2:50
10 Brand New Love 3:18
11 Ingrown 3:59
12 My Noise 3:43
13 Godsend 7:58
Written by:
♦ Eric Bachmann / Matt Gentling / William E. Johnson / Mark Price 1
♦ Brendan Canty / Joe Lally / Ian MacKaye / Guy Picciotto 2
♦ Kim Deal 3
♦ Doug Martsch 4
♦ Kim Gordon / Thurston Moore / Lee Ranaldo / Steve Shelley 5
♦ J Mascis 6
♦ Scott Kannberg / Stephen Malkmus 7
♦ Robert Pollard 8
♦ Louis Knox Barlow 10
♦ Tom Morgan 11
♦ Laura Ballance / Chuck Garrison / Mac McCaughan 12
♦ Calvin Johnson / Heather Lewis / Bret Lunsford 13
Credits:
♣ Archers of Loaf Featured Artist
♣ Eric Bachmann Composer
♣ Laura Ballance Composer
♣ Louis Knox Barlow Composer
♣ Julianna Barwick Keyboards, Vocals
♣ Beat Happening Featured Artist
♣ The Breeders Featured Artist
♣ Built to Spill Featured Artist
♣ Alex Burke Bowed Vibes, Piano
♣ Brendan Canty Composer
♣ Kim Deal Composer
♣ Hans Dekline Mastering
♣ Dinosaur Jr. Featured Artist
♣ Fugazi Featured Artist
♣ Eric Gardner Drums
♣ Chuck Garrison Composer
♣ Matt Gentling Composer
♣ Kim Gordon Composer
♣ Guided by Voices Featured Artist
♣ Petra Haden Violin
♣ Sophie Howarth Photography
♣ Nic Johns Bass
♣ Calvin Johnson Composer
♣ William E. Johnson Composer
♣ Scott Kannberg Composer
♣ Joe Lally Composer
♣ Dave “Mustang” Lang Bass (Upright)
♣ Mary Lattimore Harp
♣ Ben Lee Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals
♣ Heather Lewis Composer
♣ Bret Lunsford Composer
♣ Ian MacKaye Composer
♣ Stephen Malkmus Composer
♣ Doug Martsch Composer
♣ J Mascis Composer
♣ Nora Mathison Cello
♣ Mac McCaughan Composer
♣ Andrew Monheim Mixing
♣ Thurston Moore Composer
♣ Tom Morgan Composer
♣ Pavement Featured Artist
♣ Guy Picciotto Composer
♣ Robert Pollard Composer
♣ Mark Price Composer
♣ Lee Ranaldo Composer
♣ Sebadoh Featured Artist
♣ Steve Shelley Composer
♣ Smudge Featured Artist
♣ Sonic Youth Featured Artist
♣ Superchunk Featured Artist
♣ Maria Taylor Piano, Vocals
♣ William Tyler Guitar
♣ Mike Watt Bass
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine; Score: ****
♦ Quarter Century Classix is perhaps the quintessential Ben Lee project: an album that amounts to the Great Gen~X Songbook, a collection of 13 covers of alt/indie classics from the first half of the ’90s. Lee was raised on these tunes and with his first group, Noise Addict, he wrote songs about Evan Dando, toured with Sebadoh, and recorded for the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal label. He was in the thick of things as the alt~rock explosion crested, so he has romantic memories of the songs from his formative years, and now that he’s in his early forties, he’s ready to indulge in a bit of canonization and nostalgia.
What he winds up with is the gentle, soothing Quarter Century Classix, an album where Sonic Youth and Fugazi songs are crooned gently.
♦ Clearly, Lee’s intention is to illustrate how excellent songs existed underneath all the noise and hiss, a sentiment which is plainly true. That said, his earnest delivery may not be well~suited to songs as thorny as Pavement’s “In the Mouth a Desert,” where wry irony is embedded in the tune’s DNA. He fares better when the songs are a bit more straightforward, such as Dinosaur Jr.’s “Get Me,” the Breeders’ “Divine Hammer,” and “Speeding Motorcycle” by Daniel Johnston, who passed a few months prior to the release of this album. Lee gives these songs, along with their ten companions, sweet, loving readings that seem to be designed for a Sunday afternoon of reminiscing. While that may make for a pleasant dose of nostalgia, it’s hard to say whether it’s an accurate tribute to Gen~X indie rock.
♦ https://www.allmusic.com/
Bandcamp: https://benleenwr.bandcamp.com/album/quarter-century-classix
Website: https://www.ben-lee.com/
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