Benjy Ferree: Come to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee (CD on Domino Records)

Band: Benjy Ferree
Label: Domino Records
Title: Come to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee

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Band:Benjy Ferree
Title:Come to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee
Reviewed By:Lisa Torem
Date Published:27/01/2010

Label:Domino Records
Format:CD
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First, let’s get something straight. Benjy Ferree makes David Bowie sound like Mary Poppins. Yeah, his Peter-Pansical pipes can certainly sound choir-boy, oddly doo-wop and frollickly post-Presley, but more often this voice is sonorously chilling – one that would pair well with a dash of Richard Butler nerve-gas.

This is Washington DC-based Ferree’s second full-length album. His broad range of influences; Jimmie Rodgers, blues-luminary Son House, the vocal musings of Freddie Mercury and songwriting nods to the likes of Nick Cave all co-exist here. Ferree is an inventive songwriter and arranger.

The back-story is intriguing. Ferree was riveted to the saga of Bobby Driscoll who played Pan in the Hollywood version in 1953. Once puberty hit, Driscoll was discarded. Ferree dedicates this collection to anyone out there who has felt rejected or spit-out. And, frankly, who hasn’t?

From the first racous strums and belligerent vocal twists, Ferree assaults then assuages your senses. ‘Tired of Being Good’ contains an out of nowhere electric- blues guitar sweep and then an earnest percussive epistle – it leaps out, however, much like a black panther stalking prey in a savannah.

The title ‘Fear’ belies the Dion-type, crooner style that the softer Ferree transcends. ‘Big Business’ assures rockabilly sensuality and shrieks full-blown drums.

‘Blown Out’ thrives on truck-driving intensity and is semantically fully-loaded with lyrics like "makes me want to take off my hat in church."

‘Iris Flowers’, at the mid-way, is simply a young girl doing a recitation. It’s a bit of a perplexing stunner, but it goes along with Ferree’s free-range, anything goes approach. (This guy certainly and thankfully defies categorization).

Set against a tabula raza, one line "it’s tough to row alone in a boat" juxtaposes the eerie line "your ouija board is not a game."

A little Americana goes a long way in the clangy, high energy ‘I Get No Love.’ "She makes you feel unique/I want to sleep past morning to relive my dreams” provides the sentiment. This cut is a hodge-podge of intense emotion and truly magnetic.

It’s immediately followed by the irresistably hymnal effect of ‘Whirlpool of Love.’ Dreamy arpeggios ooze inside and out of this lollipop.

Another dank, darkly-lit cut is ‘Pisstopher Christopher’ which sustains throughout with insousiant energy. And, the thought-provoking line, from ‘When Your’re 16’ which goes: "when you’re 16 you don’t know who you are" is a swift retro-kick in the trousers. Traces of Ferree’s idol Johnny Cash sieve through these machinations.

It all magically ends with ‘Zipperface Blues’ an earthy ballad loaded with effusive backing vocals.

Ferree may find himself closely aligned with those Lost Boys of Neverland, but I think ‘Come Back to The Five and Dime, Bobby Dee, Bobby Dee’ proves that he’s virtually found his way home.

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Unique-sounding second album from soprano-voiced Washington DC-based singer-songwriter Benjy Ferree, which takes its inspiration from the story of tragic child actor, Benjy Ferree.

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Come to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee - CD
Unique-sounding second album from soprano-voiced Washington DC-based singer-songwriter Benjy Ferree, which takes its inspiration from the story of tragic child actor, Benjy Ferree.

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