Singer, songwriter, composer and author, William Ben Brooks recently released his latest studio album ‘a broken beast’, a magnificent collection of raw confessional ballads and soaring folk-rock tracks, featuring a precious line-up of Grammy and Emmy winning performers.
After the sudden, tragic death of his wife, the actress Lisa Masters, William was cornered into a cathartic healing, creating an eclectic and full display of a tumbling soul, rendered into a tightly woven blend of heartache and hope, thread bare sinners and hesitant saints.
A life lost and reclaimed – Here Brooks brings music and vocals of rare beauty, majestic and of impeccable quality, which find a formidable springboard to make a further leap and bring the musical delivery of the entire album to an even higher level.
Catherine Russell (David Bowie and Steely Dan), Ms. Nicki Richards (Madonna, Steely Dan, Foo Fighters) Janie Burnett (Linda Ronstadt, Rickie Lee Jones), multi-Emmy winner Robbie Kondor (Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel), Grammy nominee Kelvin Wooten (Al Green, Macy Gray) and Jon Gordon (Suzanne Vega and Madonna).
These are the gems of rare beauty that, together with Brooks, embellish the uniqueness and rare musicianship of that crown that is ‘a broken beast’.
THE TOUCH – Intimate, poignant and vibrant like few others, William Ben Brooks proves to be a very talented storyteller, who gives life and brilliance to a more classic folk rock in a contemporary Americana clothes.
Among the 14 tracks of the album, there are many treasures that would deserve to be talked about individually. They all are far from mere displays of prowess, and this merit goes to the expressive density of the musical delivery of every single song in ‘a broken beast’.
To find an example of this, just listen to ‘Remedy’, a scratchy and full-bodied guitar rock number, or to the first track ‘And I Heard’, a mystical stage curtain whose opening introduces us to the magical atmosphere of this release.
Musical thickness and body evolve from the moving and touching timeless ballad ‘The Beauty of It All’ into captivating energy, like in the pulse-racing cadence of ‘Too Soon’.
Gem among other gems, here comes ‘In This Room’, a piece of musical art, co-written by Brooks with the multi-talented artist and best-selling author Julia Cameron of “The Artist’s Way” fame.
An album that wounds and heal, both the heart and the soul, full of meaningful words that, together with the beauty of the compositions and the preciousness of the efforts of the many gifted artists who took part in it, give life to an unmissable work. Full of feeling. Rare. Capable of making us all feel ‘a borken beast’.