Ben Levin
Carryout Or Delivery
VizzTone
|

Have you noticed the
proliferation of younger blues artists entering
the scene in the last few years? If you haven't,
I recommend that you scour our January Top Ten
lists for such emerging artists and get familiar
with the very fine music coming out in recent
years.
One such performer is Ben Levin,
who just recently released his second album,
Carryout Or Delivery (VizzTone), while just
21-years-old. It follows his very fine Before Me
release that was recorded when Levin was still a
teenager. He's already a triple threat, skilled on
keyboards while also a strong singer and gifted
songwriter. Levin is backed here by his dad, Aron
Levin, on guitar, drummer Oscar Bernal and bass
player Chris Douglas, and the diversity of material
on Carryout Or Delivery demonstrates his
growth as an artist since his previous album.
Levin kicks off the album with a
blues shuffle original, "You Know," starting with a
rollicking piano solo that proves right away that
the kid knows how to pound the ivories. That
maturity in his music shows on the next cut as Levin
takes the listener down to New Orleans and gets
pretty funky on the pandemic-related "Stuck." His
strong vocals belie his age as he laments the fact
that he's tired of being stuck at home. Levin
switches over to the electric piano for the slow
blues, "Too Good For Me," still another original
number on which he professes that his woman is just
too good for him.
The highlight of Carryout Or
Delivery comes next with the title cut, one
that's just so suitable for this wretched pandemic.
It's got a 1940s vibe, with a percussove beat while
Levin growls out the vocals about how he's available
to be "... your personal Amazon man ..." Several
members of the Levin family and a couple of other
guests join in on background vocals. Another
favorite number is the lightning fast instrumental
number, "Nola Night," a New Orleans/Latin kind of
thing, with Levin pounding away on the piano keys.
Levin is from Cincinnati and is
still in college, but the young man has a heavy
infusion of New Orleans in his soul. Most notable is
when he summons his inner Professor Longhair on the
Bill Nettles 1949 tune, "Hadacol Bounce," which was
later covered by Mr. Longhair (aka Roy Byrd)
himself. Another song with a Louisiana sound is the
slow ballad, "Papercut," co-written by the father
and son Levin combo.
More than just a piano player, Levin
shows off his skill on organ with a cover of the
Harold Burrage slow blues instrumental, "The
Buzzard," with very tasty guitar accompaniment from
the senior Levin. Organ and guitar are both strong
on "My Back Scratcher," a mid-tempo blues original
done long ago by Mississippi Delta bluesman Frank
Frost.
Closing this very fine album is one
more cover, Floyd Dixon's "Time Brings About A
Change," with both a gospel and ballad vibe to it.
Aron Levin's guitar playing really stands out on
this one.
I hope that I've encouraged our
readers to explore the plethora of strong blues
albums that have been put out by young performers
from around the world. Checking out Ben Levin and
his Carryout Or Delivery album would be a
good start as we keep trying to keep the blues
alive.
--- Bill Mitchell