Ben Bell - Patchwork Cacophony. 2014 England

In general, I'm not a fan of solo albums, but when Ben Bell asked me to give a listen to his debut work Patchwork Cacophony, something told me this might be a bit different. And sure enough, I was right (at least this time...). I knew Ben from the Fusion Orchestra reformation album (technically with an appended 2 to the moniker). He seemed like such a genuinely pleasant fellow, and his positive demeanor and overall disposition were perhaps a bit closer to my own. And it was obvious, to me at least, that he had an enormous influence over Fusion Orchestra's return success (artistically speaking of course).

Basically Ben Bell plays about 40 instruments here, and that's one reason why it works so effectively. This includes the critical ingredients such as keyboards, guitars, and drums/percussion. So instead of the usual limited palette, Bell creates a myriad of sounds via both older analog, and newer digital, instruments. In this way, Bell could be considered a modern Mike Oldfield, marrying his Hergest Ridge and Amarok eras in seamless fashion. Though perhaps Bell's work is more in line with traditional symphonic progressive, than what the mercurial Oldfield would release. The only track with vocals, 'Dawn Light', has a distinct Supertramp feel - at their most progressive. Hammond organ, acoustic piano, and sampled mellotron drive the tones, and he does an admirable job with the rhythms - and especially the additional percussion. And an occasional fuzz guitar intrusion never hurt anyone (especially me!). Of course, one can always benefit from the "creative friction" and synergy of a group effort, though admittedly the stress levels are so much calmer when it's only you that you're left  arguing with...

I had to laugh when Bell stated "As a gesture to my teenage version of myself who loved reading these lists while listening to albums, trying to spot each part like a a treasure hunt checklist:". And then he listed the instrumentation in detail. Yea, well, I also liked doing that when I was 13 too. And guess what? I still like doing that as I close in on 51...

In conclusion, a highly recommended album for symphonic progressive rock fans.

Ownership: CD: 2014 Patchwork Studios

1/26/15 (new entry)