Paul Benjaman Band – My Bad Side Wants A Good Time
Horton Records
12 songs time – 42:46
The Paul Benjaman Band wears their Tulsa, Oklahoma roots on their sleeves. As the recording proceeds Paul developes more of an Okie accent that at times sounds like he has pebbles in his mouth, making the lyrics hard to decipher completely. The band are full out rockers with barely any blues influence. Paul and Jesse Aycock handle guitar duties very well. The drummer, bass player and keyboard man are up to the task. The lyrics are no great shakes. The guitar playing and the catchy riffs are really the saving grace of this disc.
“Undercover Of Night” starts things off with jaunty guitar riffing under razor sharp guitar soloing. Chugging guitar powers “Hot Dice” and features Jesse Aycock’s slithering lap steel along with regular guitaring. The title track brings more rock and roll thunder down with a menacing riff. “Chasm Of Soul” is Southern Rock influenced. His pronunciation of “Local Honey” sounds for all the world like “locohany”.
“Church Of Space And Time” amounts to a Leon Russell impression where Paul accentuates his Okie drawl. It also features Russell style piano playing. The title is a reference to Leon’s moniker of The Master Of Space And Time. The vocal twang carries over to “Outlaw Land”. The guitar interplay here is a wonder. “Detroit Train” chugs along just like a funky old steam train. More tasty lap steel on this one.
“La Serpentine” becomes La Serpontain, what do I know? It features a nice riff along with electric piano. They turn in a plaintive ballad via “How Bad I Want You”. “Blues Skyline” evokes the laid back style of JJ Cale in vocalization and music.
This will appeal to the rockers out there. There is no denying the soulful guitar playing throughout this record. Some of the songs are appealing to me, but we all have different taste in music. It will surely reach its’ audience.