Product Description For fans of John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Jason Marasz, Jack Johnson, Ryan Adams, Lou Reed, Tom Petty and Neil Young. The album is rock/acoustic, progressive and will appeal to all demographics. In addition, it comes with the weird tomato on the cover! .com After kicking around the college circuit and self-releasing two albums the previous decade, Ben Arthur shrewdly adds enough electro-nervous, street-cred-savvy production sheen (courtesy of producer/engineer Mike Shipley, whose performed similar alchemy for everyone from Aerosmith and Def Leppard to india.arie and Shania Twain) on this boutique label third release to lure even the most jaded adult-alternative fan. Naked emotion and ambiguous states of mind have long been the genre's oft-conflicting stocks in trade, but they make for a compelling balancing act here as Arthur's dry, wry vocal tack informs everything from the savory, psych-pop bounce of "Mary Ann" to the equally hook-rich "Broken Hearted Smile" and "Mercy." The quiet, acoustic charms of "Instrumental #3" represents a sort of mid-set respite as Arthur kicks off his musical shoes for the infectious country-folk sing-along "Keep Me Around," the spare beauty of "Jesus," and the dreamy dirge "Wake." The brash jangle of "Sight of Your Tears" pushes the "Alt" part of the equation a bit too aggressively, but Arthur's effortless knack for wedding memorable hook to opaque reflection shines through virtually everywhere else. --Jerry McCulley P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review "Ben Arthur is the best new talent we've heard in years" -- Celebrity Cafe"Ben Arthur pulls off a rare feat of being both sincere and humorous. His unassuming nature makes him stick out". -- CMJ New Music Monthly"Ben is sure to turn heads in 2004". -- Glide Magazine About the Artist When Ben Arthur ruefully sings, "The older I get, the more I realize/The best I can hope for is compromise", the singer-songwriter is only half-serious. After all, the young veteran hasn't toiled at his craft for more then a decade to give in without a fight. That line, from "Mary Ann" (one of the new songs on his album), Edible Darling reflects the litany of near misses he's experienced after being heavily courted by several major labels over the years. Yet, for his Bardic Records debut, Arthur made sure he did things his way, with the help of mixer/engineer Mike Shipley ( The Coors, Def Leppard, The Cars, Shaina Twian, Faith Hill and India.Arie). "I ever doubted that playing music is what I wanted to do", says the Virginia native, who laughs, "In fact , you can refer to me as the "The artist formerly known as waiter". He says that his music is what he lives for, even if at times he has to do it while working in restaurants. See more
D**6
This was a gift for somebody.
Fast shipping, great price. This was a birthday gift that I purchased for some body else. Price was super cheap, I was able to purchase other things and I looked like a hero.
A**E
Five Stars
AAA
S**E
Try to get "Mary Ann" out of your head... just try it.
I was at an outdoor concert series in Portland Oregon a few days ago... and before the band took the stage Ben Arthur's song "Mary Ann" was being played through the sound system (the sound person told me who it was). The song is total ear candy... fat bass and slamming pop production. It got stuck in my head and when I got back to work I came here and bought it.I am looking forward to getting the record and playing Mary Ann on eleven. As the kids on American Bandstand used to say... "it's got a great beat and you can dance to it". `Nuf said.
A**R
Edible Darling...great album
I was lucky enough to have Ben Arthur come and perform at my school recently. (my Latin teacher knows him personally) He was great! It is so refreshing to see a singer/songwriter who actually writes his/her own music and plays an instrument! While I don't actually own this CD, I would be willing to buy it. One of my favourites is "Keep Me Around" and there was another song he played about a cat exploding...it was hilarious but I don't think it ended up on the album unfortunately. Yeah, so anyway, do yourself a favour and buy this CD instead of someone like Hilary Duff's, who neither writes her own music nor plays an instrument. This guy really deserves your support; he truly loves music and isn't in it for the fame or the fortune, which you have to admit, in this day and age, is very admirable. =)
A**E
Really fun pop
Ben's music is fun, smart pop with amazing hooks that will be playing in your head long after the CD comes out of your player. The songs range from straight up pop, to rock, to Americana and he does all those styles very well. They all seem to come very natural to him. His voice at times reminds me of John Linnell from They Might Be Giants but is not quite a nasal."Tonight" is a lovely ballad. "Broken-Hearted Smile" is the most radio friendly song I've heard in ages. "Instrumental #3" is ear candy for anyone who loves the sound of the guitar. But my favorite is probably "Keep Me Around", but ask me again tomorrow, it could change. They're all really good songs.I can imagine nearly every song on here being played on the radio and being very well received. I think "Edible Darling" and Ben Arthur have a big future. ...
S**T
It Doesn't Suck . . .
If you are the type of person who complains about filthy language or if you yell at cars in your neighborhood to slow down, you will LOVE this album. Devoid of any lyrics that portray real feeling, this album was a disappointment.It just doesn't get any classier than, "All this dry-humping / must lead to something" from Mary Ann. Keep Me Around is kind of catchy musically, until you hear the lyrics that sound like they were written by Shel Silverstein or Dr. Suess: "And you can hang your clothes / from hooks made of my toes". Or finally, how about the title line from Broken-Hearted Smile, "I would walk 1000 miles / To see your broken-hearted smile". That's exactly what I was looking for--ANOTHER played out exposition about walking long distances to prove your love.Again, this album doesn't completely suck. If I were a fourteen-year-old girl I might be able to get past the stale, adolescent lyrics and enjoy the VERY radio-friendly sound. Perhaps we can look forward to Ben Arthur's sophomore album--maybe he'll try not to be such a sell out.
