Ben Sollee's latest album, Time On Hold (streaming release on Feb. 27), was recorded last summer in Fort Collins, Colorado, and not at home in Louisville, Kentucky. Sollee's notes say it draws inspiration from the country soul of '70s singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Phoebe Snow. So… ”Fire and Rain” and “Poetry Man”: My early adolescence, a generation before Sollee was born, when I knew all the words and precious little of what they meant.
And, to be clear, I'm not entirely certain I understand what the words “country” and “soul” mean in this context, describing this particular album, much less describing the work of James Taylor and Phoebe Snow and that whole extended orbit. But the point is made. Sollee has chosen a production sensibility that is either cutting edge, a moment we didn't know we were having, or the dullest butter knife in the back of the drawer. (I wouldn't know, either way.)
I fear that all can be read less charitably than it's meant.
Remember that “inspiration” is rather different from “reenactment.”
Sollee has reset eight songs among two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, and added two new ones. It's an ambitious undertaking, re-contextualizing songs like “Bible Belt” and “How to See the Sunrise,” which are known and loved, and growing them into a fresh form.
Taylor Swift notwithstanding, this can be a dodgy proposition. All too many country has-beens have rerecorded their hits to muddy the waters with greatest hits packages that…weren't. (And, yeah, I'm looking at you, John Anderson.)
But, no. That is decidedly not what's on offer here. This is what Ben Sollee does, has always done. He makes music. He challenges his listeners to follow. He doesn't wait, doesn't chase…anything, certainly not stardom (whatever that is), just tries to keep pace with his own curiosity.
