Benny Sings
I Love You: Live At The Bimhuis

There are records whose release goes largely unnoticed, often not only by those who buy music but also by those who sell it. That's why when you find yourself in a record store asking about the existence of certain CDs, the looks from the sellers shift from astonished to shocked.
And so, after much effort and many searches, you find yourself holding a small jewel that you appreciate even more simply because it is yours and only yours. Like a being not yet weaned, you cradle it, study it, savor its details, and hope it remains your secret treasure before a wave of success ends up squandering all its magic, turning it into a mass phenomenon. But quality and success are not always in symbiosis, so certain things are and will remain simple gems to be cherished. This naive little guy on the cover, busy talking on the phone, is my secret gem of 2005.

Benny Sings is a young Dutch artist of great talent and what I present to you is "I Love You", his second album, recorded entirely live with his large band. Uncle Benny, influenced by the music of the Beatles and David Bowie (after all, who hasn't been), delights us with a sequence of twelve very refined tracks that defining as pop seems too simple, because the tracks on this CD are seemingly simple and light, but upon a more in-depth listening, one can appreciate the quality of the arrangements and the complexity of styles that gradually interlock piece by piece. The sounds bear certain musical influences, but the work is still full of ideas: acoustic guitars, keyboards, brass, and many other instruments frame compositions of rare beauty and elegance both in style and originality.

The album flows with pleasure, and it's very difficult not to listen to it three or four times a day because each track becomes the soundtrack of your day starting from when you wake up. One cannot be insensitive to the sweetness and serenity it conveys. It's no coincidence that a well-known Italian music magazine, which published a short review of this CD, including it among the new sounds, strongly recommended its readers to gift it to their partner, and I assure you the idea is not bad at all: try it to believe it.