It has been the better part of a decade since Ben Reddell put out his last CD, an EP titled The Big Dang Deal, but that doesn’t mean the Texas-born, Los Angeles-based musician hasn’t been busy. He has been playing bass with several bands, managing Bedrock LA, and promoting and hosting the Grand Ole Echo, a weekly show in the Echo Park section of L.A., in addition to working with his own band. And now Ben Reddell has a new EP out. The Ben Reddell Band began recording ¡LA Baby! in December of 2019, but soon the pandemic caused a change in plans, and the rest of the disc had to be finished remotely. The disc features all original material, written by Ben Reddell, and the band is made up of Travis Popichak on drums, Elijah Ocean on bass, Joe Bourdet on guitar, Jon Neimann on keys, Matt Pynn on pedal steel, and Jeremy Long on accordion.
The EP opens with “My Baby,” and the first thing that strikes me about this song is the tremendous amount of cheer to its sound. This is a song for summer, a song to be playing while you’re cruising the boulevards near the ocean or a lake, or wherever it is you take pleasure in being during these hot months. “And I think about the future/And I know everything is going to be all right.” Yes, there are those moments, and we need more of them, when you are certain of a positive outcome. And yes, these days it seems those moments are tied exclusively to that one special someone in your life, for the rest of the world is just nuts. This love song has a delightfully bright vibe, and features some nice work on keys. Then “Cocaine” comes on as a heavier, thumping song, but is just as much fun. In fact, at first it seems like strictly a party song, with that opening line “Ease my brain with a little cocaine/Ease my mind with wine,” but suddenly certain lines about the racists who were living in the White House grab my attention. And then Ben Reddell sings, “While the world is in shambles/Going to drink, I’m going to ramble/I’m going to piss this whole life away.” And I seriously dig that rock and roll keyboard part. Things then relax a bit with “Tumbleweed,” an easygoing country song featuring some good work on pedal steel and a wonderful, heartfelt vocal performance. It’s about being out on the road. “Yeah, you can roll with me tonight/While stars are burning bright.” This track features some excellent guitar work toward the end.
“If You Love Her And You Need Her” is a totally fun number with something of a Cajun vibe with that work on accordion. And how can you not love a country song that makes a reference to a Madonna song? But to balance things out, it also mentions a pickup truck. So there. And this song has a cha cha cha ending. (By the way, on the CD case, this song is listed as “Love Her & You Need Her.”) That’s followed by “12 Bar Blues,” which features more nice work on pedal steel and has sweet vibes aplenty. “Hold you closely upon the floor/Until the two of us can dance no more.” And this is exactly the sort of perfect declaration of love for our times: “And even when the world just feels so insane/I still love you, babe.” The EP concludes with another cheerful number, “Good Thing,” featuring lively work on accordion and a good rhythm. There is even a section with just vocals and drums in the second half. This one also has a cha cha cha ending, a great way to wrap up the EP.
CD Track List
- My Baby
- Cocaine
- Tumbleweed
- If You Love Her And You Need Her
- 12 Bar Blues
- Good Thing
¡LA Baby! was released on July 9, 2021.
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