Soundtrack4Life: The Best Albums of 2017 - #14 Witness - Benjamin Booker

A man who cites The Gun Club, Blind Willie Johnson and T. Rex as his influences is always going to grab my attention!

Benjamin Booker announced in March this year that he was going to be releasing his second album and on his website he included a little essay outlining the reason for the song and album title Witness (You can read it HERE).

What you get is a soul infused, blues rock kind of garage rock, gospel "with a raw and unforgiving candor that's reminiscent of downtown New York punk" sounding album that is political in places as you might expect after reading his essay!

Pitchfork said Benjamin, "makes retro music feel modern, reflecting on racism in America while drawing on blues, soul, and gospel."

It's an absolute cracker in my book.

Witness - Benjamin Booker

ATO/Rough Trade

Produced by Sam Cohen

Released 2nd June 2017

Here are links for all but one of the songs from the album. Not all of these are the actual version that appear on the album - some are live Radio Performances or Concert Performances.

A1 Right On You    
A2 Motivation    
A3 Witness (featuring Mavis Staples)    
A4 The Slow Drag Under    
A5 Truth Is Heavy    
B1 Believe    
B2 Overtime    
B3 Off The Ground    
B4 Carry    
B5 All Was Well

Benjamin Booker

Live on KEXP

 Check Out Benjamin Booker's NPR Tiny Desk Concert Here.

The Guardian Review.

Paste Magazine Review.