Brendan Benson
Lapalco (2002)

review by: Mike Webb
Date: 6/18/02

Brendan Benson Lapalco vs. Paul Westerberg/Grandpaboy Mono

In this corner the challenger - Mr. Brendan "Well Fed Boy" Benson. BB hails from Harvey, Louisiana via Oakland, CA, via Detroit, MI, and Lapalco is only his second release, coming 5 years after the exceptional debut release One Mississippi. He's a quirky songwriter, but he lays out instant sing-alongs time after time.

And in the far corner is the one time heavyweight champion & greatest songwriter on the planet - Mr. Paul "Grandpaboy" Westerberg. Paulie comes to us from the coolest city and one time music center-of-the-universe, Minneapolis, MN. P Dub was the leader of the infamous Replacements, and Mono is more or less his fourth full solo album (coming out just before Stereo which is supposed to be mellow, so we won't be in a rush to listen).

The bell rings, and Benson steps to the fore to take the first swing with "Tiny Spark." Two bars of a strange radio wave-like keyboard play, before guitars start to chug, and the "yeahs" hit. Paul (and myself) get hooked, and Westerberg's already bleeding. BB is throwing lefts, rights, jabs and uppercuts, and seems very fresh. There's an innocence about his music, probably because he's not the most confident guy on the block, so he's well honed at using his wits to get by. The first few rounds are pure Benson - light on his feet, not pulling any punches and bemoaning life, friendships and relationships. Sure he packs a lot of words into his verses, but the guy throws a powerful jab, and if it's your best punch, why not throw it early and often. Frankly, I was stuck singing the first half of this album for about 3 weeks straight.

Six rounds in and Westerberg's cut, tired and struggling. The first half of Mono pretty much sucks. His opener is a tune called "High Time", but it's listless and reminds you that his lionheart has lost its roar. "Knock It Right Out" could be an attempt at re-hashing the Replacements, but it fails miserably leaving Paulie punch drunk instead of drunk. The master craftsman must have left his tools (like choruses) at home cause he can't seem to complete a swing and looks like he might be in trouble of getting knocked out. Maybe the anger has gotten the better of him, cause Mono is full of negative vibes. "You ought to be a silent film star and keep that pretty little trap shut," "let's not belong together", "just stay where you are, baby stay away from me, with your eyes like sparks and my heart like gasoline" and "I ain't got anything to say to anyone anymore" are typical lines - sounds like Paul needs a hug.

Somehow though, the ex-champ is able to hang in there til the end. Westerberg picks up points in the later rounds and even wins one with the buried, shoulda been the single "Between Love & Like." But it's still not enough to compete with BB who dishes out "I'm Easy" which dances along quickly, and "Pleasure Seeker" which manages to rhyme mellow with Saul Bellow.

To their credit, both artists keep the bout interesting with their low key, lo-fi production. Either of these could've been recorded in a cheap basement studio, and Benson's was mostly done on 4 track, while Westerberg kept it simple with a mono mix (hence the album name). But excellent training and a cool sound can't change the fact that the scorecard is gonna make Benson the heir to the rock'n'roll songwriter's throne.

Brendan Benson
One Mississippi (1996)

review by: Mike Webb
Date: 6/7/02

This has been one of the toughest reviews for me to write because I love this album so much. It's a '90s version of the Beatles meets the Raspberries, with lo-fi production, a little neuroticism, wit and grit. And it's remarkable.

It came out in '95 and was largely ignored by the rest of the world. I only came across it because I was working at a record label and I had been bad that day so my boss made me listen to demos. In 2 years of listening to demos (figure 5 a week times 104 weeks…..so that's ah, um, er….) 0 (that's ZERO) were any good. So I literally freaked out and ran down the hall the very first time I heard Benson's songs.

Anyway, One Mississippi starts off with "Tea" - a jolly, bouncing, piano-driven English pop song that after 68 seconds goes directly into the guitar blaring, almost punk "Bird's Eye View". 100 seconds later in the next song BB sings to his woman "If I point my gun at you, are you gonna see it my way? And if I tell you what to do - I think we can make it work this way….My baby's tied to a chair, don't she look pretty just sitting there?"

Then the record then gets more personal and takes on a different charm. "I'm Blessed" is a completely catchy head-bopper and has one of my favorite lines - "I never know what I'm supposed to be, turned over every rock for clues." One Mississippi moves along until the closer - the beautiful but melancholy "Cherries" where he wants to take the girl he's with "home to meet mom and dad, but it's hard to tell with a girl like this cause she might smile or she might spit on them."

BB wears his heart on his sleeve, but not in a wimpy way. It's a pretty joyful and romantic romp, and that makes it a very easy and fun listen. Most of the songs were a collaborative effort with Jason Faulkner (who used to be in Jellyfish which I hated. But I went out and bought Faulkner's solo album after listening to this thinking it had to be ok - but it sucked too. So I'm giving the greatness credit to BB).

If you like Beatle-esque pop, but not Beatle wannabees, then you'll love this album. Brendan has pretty much disappeared since making this masterpiece of a debut (although I found 3 new songs at MP3.com and rumors of a new album in early '02). But if this is all he's got to share with us, it's plenty more than Depeche Mode has EVER given us.