Real Music is an album I should have written about a long time ago. Time and time again, I have pulled it out, listened to it, and decided, “I really have to write about this!” And then, somehow, I never did. I bought this album from CD Baby, which sells records by various artists, or independent artists, really, all under one roof. It’s a good product idea, no doubt about it, but I’m not convinced it works all that well after having ordered from them a few times. They’ve only gotten it right 50% of the time, but that’s another story.
This was at least one of the albums they actually got right, and I’m genuinely grateful for that.
At first, I had a little trouble getting into it because I was expecting something completely different. After reading the genre descriptions on CD Baby, I had assumed it was some kind of roots rock, but I discovered that this wasn’t the case. Instead, I would describe it as some kind of blues, folk blues, or Delta blues, but definitely not roots rock.
This initially left me disappointed because I felt like I had been misled, but after several listens, I probably couldn’t have made a better “mistake.” What you hear is traditional, but in a modern way, you could say. Ben Prestage has done most of it himself, from the artwork to playing and singing, but he only wrote a few of the songs on this album.
Instead, as far as I understand it, we’re dealing with genre classics. We have songwriters such as Booker White, Willie Dixon, and Johnny Cash, just to mention a few.
There is a real feeling in these songs, and Ben Prestage sounds like he has never done anything but perform music. There is an incredible joy in playing that really rubs off on the listener. It’s fun to listen to, and it becomes even more interesting when you learn that Ben Prestage is actually a one-man band. There is an astonishing amount of sound coming from one man. Although that isn’t entirely true either. Ben plays everything except the tuba on this album. Maybe it’s difficult to play the tuba and sing at the same time?
But it really does sound like a full orchestration, and that is what makes this so unique. There are drums, bass, and guitar, plus vocals, of course, and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it was possible to play this way.
The album takes a little while to really sink in, but once it does, you are truly rewarded for your patience!
Best song? Save the Roach for Me!
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