ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Poole – Anytime You Need Me

Ben Poole Anytime You Need Me Album Review

Ben Poole

Anytime You Need Me

Audio CD (14 Sept. 2018)

Label: Manhaton Records

RATING: *****

 

Beautiful. Cool. Deliciously smooth. Ben Poole’s latest album Anytime You Need Me is a further assured stamp of a young man who is headed all the way to the very top!

There is something enigmatic about this album. Something as elusively unattainable as fog, yet every bit as stunning as a rainbow in full arc. And rest assured. There are plenty of golden nuggets to be had upon reaching its end as well.

Take It No More is fabulously and almost ludicrously gentile in its production values, yet still manages to pack a punch. This in no small part is the absolute respect Poole clearly has not only for the blues-rock genre he inhabits, but also the instrument he wields so blindingly well.

Produced and partially written by King King drummer Wayne Proctor, Anytime You Need Me is a 48 minute box of musical delight. Proctor himself supplies the drums, whereas the underlying bass lines supplied by Beau Barnard and the Hammond of Ross Stanley cement just about every track. You Could Say is an understated funky master class of the highest levels, whereas Found Out The Hard Way couldn’t possibly be any more lovely to listen to.

Poole’s own talents are clear for all to see. His manifestly overwhelming abilities shining brightest during Further On Down The Line and Don Henley cover Dirty Laundry.

Yet it is the freshness of the sound, the overall accessibility of the music, that is most attractive. There is nothing here that disappoints, with Poole’s almost prosaic attitude allowing each song to breathe alone.

Start The Car is the stand out – its rocking, swaying beat as contagious as chocoholism – but in all seriousness, it could have been any of the 10 of which Anytime You Need Me consists.

In short, this is an album that marks yet another giant leap forward in the career of Ben Poole. An artist, lest we forget, who has been dubbed “F#####g amazing” by Jeff Beck and “So amazing” by Beth Hart. This album merely serves to underpin the obvious. This is a man with places to be!

Track List:

Anytime You Need Me

Take It No More

You Could Say

Found Out The Hard Way

Further Down The Line

Dirty Laundry

Start The Car

Holding On

Tour

Latest Music Bar, Brighton

Wednesday 21st November 2018

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14-17 Manchester St, Brighton, BN2 1TF
https://latestmusicbar.co.uk

The Stables, Milton Keynes

Thursday 22nd November 2018

Double headline with Stevie Nimmo
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Stockwell Ln, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LU

https://stables.org

Old Schoolhouse, Barnsley

Friday 23rd November 2018

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Blackburn Ln, Barnsley, S75 2BA
www.oldschoolhousebarnsley.co.uk

The Meeting Room, Elland

Saturday 24th November 2018

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19-21 Elland Lane, Elland, HX5 9DU

www.themeetingroomelland.co.uk

The Beaverwood Club, Chislehurst

Wednesday 28th November 2018

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Beaverwood Rd, Chislehurst, BR7 6HF
http://thebeaverwoodclub.co.uk

Oran Mor, Glasgow

Thursday 29th November 2018

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Top of Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8QX
https://oran-mor.co.uk

Cafe Drummonds, Aberdeen

Friday 30th November 2018

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1 Belmont St, Aberdeen, AB10 1JR
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com

The Green Hotel, Kinross

Saturday 1st December 2018

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2 The Muirs, Kinross, Perthshire, KY13 8AS
www.green-hotel.com

Früit, Hull

Wednesday 5th December 2018

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62-63 Humber St, Hull, HU1 1TU
www.fruitspace.co.uk

Real Time Live, Chesterfield

Thursday 6th December 2018

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13 Marsden St, Chesterfield, S40 1JY
www.realtimelive.co.uk

The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber

Friday 7th December 2018

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The Ropewalk, Maltkiln Road, Barton upon Humber, North Lincolnshire, DN18 5JT
www.the-ropewalk.co.uk

Half Moon Putney, London

Wednesday 12th December 2018

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93 Lower Richmond Rd, London, SW15 1EU
http://halfmoon.co.uk

The Musician, Leicester

Thursday 13th December 2018

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42 Crafton St W, Leicester, LE1 2DE
www.themusicianpub.co.uk

The Railway, Winchester

Saturday 15th December 2018

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3 St Paul’s Hill, Winchester, SO22 5AE
www.railwayinn.pub

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