Ben Chapman “Downbeat”

Hippie Shack, 2024

Inspired by the music of The Band, this is an entertaining ‘southern-funk jam-band country’ release.

Artwork for Ben Chapman album “Downbeat”LaFayette, Georgia country artist Channing Wilson played a sizeable part in Ben Chapman (also a native of LaFayette), following his dream to becoming an established musician; Chapman recalls being 16 years old and Wilson telling him, “You’ve got what it takes to be a successful musician if you wanna do it, but you can’t do it here. When you turn 21, you’ve gotta go to Nashville”. Chapman duly followed the advice and moved to Nashville, aged 21, however by that time he had cut his teeth, playing dive bars, VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) bars and “Mexican restaurants”.

While Chapman moved to Nashville to write songs, something with which he has had a good deal of success, his aim is to establish himself as an artist. Prior to writing and recording “Downbeat“, Chapman listened extensively to the work of The Band and it’s evident when listening to “Downbeat“; Chapman found their music to be an inspiration, stating “The Band reminded me that I have a voice, so I better use it and say what I want to”. Chapman co-wrote each of the songs on the LP, with the exception of the final song, including four co-written with his long-term girlfriend, Meg McRee, who also sings on the album. Chapman describes his music as “this southern-funk jam-band country thing”.

The record was produced by Anderson East, who also contributes electric guitar and keyboards. The LP was mainly recorded ‘live’ in the studio. Kicking off proceedings in good fashion is ‘Almost Home‘, a song recounting the tribulations of a touring musician, “Driving all night Sleep till noon, If I was home tomorrow, It wouldn’t be too soon, Drink a pot coffee, To Pass the time away, Take a pull a whiskey, Then I walk stage“. ‘Don’t You Dare‘ is a little slower; was written quickly on the front porch, it’s about a couple who were made for each other “We damn near got it perfect, But we’ve had our nights, Where we don’t go to sleep, Til we make it all right“.

Downbeat‘ brings a change of style; it’s a little funky. The inspiration for the song was drawn from playing at a particular biker bar in Chattanooga, where all kinds of nefarious activity went on; however once the music started the whole atmosphere in the club changed; “This place gets scary after dark, Buying cocaine in the parking lot” and “When the downbeat comes, everything’s alright”.

Temporary High‘ has Chapman adopting a vocal style sounding a little like Chris Stapleton; it includes prominent pedal steel playing by Shaun Richardson. ‘If I Was You‘ is another change of style, more rocky but with a soulful sound to it, featuring some neat bass playing from Gregg Garner and a guitar solo by East. ‘Finish What You Started‘ is a little slower and covers the end of a relationship; “Don’t leave me half broken-hearted, If you’re really gonna end it, Then Baby finish, Finish what you started“.

Baby Don’t Cry It’s Saturday Night‘ is one of the record’s highlights, it features some fine guitar playing, while ‘America’s Sweetheart‘ brings a somewhat negative take on the world and its populace. Chapman’s motivation for writing this song came following a tour of the US West Coast, seeing large numbers of homeless people and how they were treated by others; it made him sad. The chorus goes “Now even America’s Sweetheart is bitter, Turns out most everything that glitters isn’t gold, Overpromised underdelivered, Never saw a single dime for all the years she sold, Now She’s just gettin old, America’s Sweetheart“.

The LP comes to its conclusion with a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You‘ (from Dylan’s 1969’s “Nashville Skyline” LP). McRee steps in to the spotlight, sharing lead vocals with Chapman, having contributed backing vocals to most of the other songs here. East plays a tasty guitar solo, the song closing with Chapman and McRee’s refrain: “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You”. Of course this is a classic song and it would be going some to better the Dylan original, with Dylan joined by luminaries such as Johnny Cash, Norman Blake and Charlie Daniels; however Chapman, with McRee in tow, does a more than decent job.

The songs on this record are well constructed both musically and lyrically, covering an eclectic range of musical styles from country rock, to more soulful vibes. It’s a good listen.

7/10
7/10

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