BEN McCLURE Winds of Change
Billy In The Low Ground – Roxanna Waltz – Milk Cow Blues – Wilson’s Hornpipe – Maiden’s Prayer – I Don’t Love Nobody – Midnight On The Water – Southern Aristocracy – Sunday River Waltz – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – Winds of Change
I’m eternally impressed with young people who take up the fiddle to play country music. In the beginning it’s very difficult, as a matter of fact the fiddle is the most difficult of all instruments in country music. The end result however, is being able to listen to an incredibly smooth fiddler play some of the most beautifully composed and creative melody lines in music. Ben McClure was at the LeMars Festival in 2011, and I was impressed to see how well he is doing. He is starting his adventure in fiddle music just right, learning the old hand-me-down tunes that have always been so popular in the upper Midwest. I believe he has won the fiddle championship at the Iowa State Fair a couple of times, if not more. The procedure is usually a waltz, a hoe-down, and a tune of your choice. Ben kind of does that on this fine example of how he’s coming on this very beautiful instrument. It’s a fine example of an instrumentalist taking on the adventure of seeing how well he can play some of the old favorites. I hear a little ‘sharpness’ in the way the bow is attacking the strings. Maybe too much rosin, but the real secret is in the wrist Ben. That’s where you eliminate the little ‘squeaks’ that shouldn’t be there. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to ‘perfect’ this art. It’s as challenging as playing classical music, in some cases even more difficult. The other secret is kind of like if Ben were to ask, “How do I get to play at Carnegie Hall?” The answer is always the same. “Practice my friend, practice.” I really like the choice of songs, the last one is interesting, it’s Ben playing guitar and singing “Winds of Change.” In total, this is a fine CD, home produced and not especially prepared for massive major label release. It’s a stepping stone in the musical life of a very fine young musician, Benjamin McClure
BUY THIS CD DIRECT FROM: Ben McClure, 2423 Grand River Drive, Des Moines, Iowa, 50320-2832
Bob Everhat