Benmont Tench – You Should Be So Lucky

I picked up a used copy of this album recently. Great songs and it's clear how integral Benmont Tench was to the Heartbreakers sound. The pressing quality is also very good and it is all analog. Huge bonus!

Benmont Tench's "You Should Be So Lucky" is unfortunately not very lucky. Tench's voice just can't carry these tunes. On one of the stronger tracks, the punchy "Veronica Said," it makes me wish another singer would cover it. It's a great little song that floats on a cool riff. There are some singers whose vocal ranges are also limited but who get more mileage from their talents like Mason Jennings who writes some killer tunes or even Ana Egge whose flat delivery undercuts her stunning melodies and great lyrics. Tench definitely reads better on the peppier tracks like the title track with its sassy lyric and somewhat snide lyric, "Under another sky, under another sun, maybe some other guy would tell you you were the one; But that's another story, and this one's already foretold; I hate to spoil the ending, but you ain't comin' in from the cold." Tench's "Corrina Corrina" has me reaching for vintage vinyl from Taj Mahal to put some life in the track. Another part of the problem is that Tench's skills as a songwriter are not on display here. Songs like "Dogwood," "Like the Sun" and "Why Don't You Quit Leavin' Me Alone" are hard to image as standouts even with a stronger singer at the helm. If you think about Leonard Cohen who also has a limited singing voice or the exquisite Bob Dylan whose early work actually had some great vocals, their songs are exquisite. Tench's strong songs are the exception here. The Dylan cover of "Duquesne Whistle" has some great keyboards, but makes me wish I were listening to Hugh Laurie. "You Should Be So Lucky" struggles to keep my attention. Taxi!