Hearing Aide: Marco Benevento ‘Woodstock Sessions’

Marco Benevento is the latest artist to record his Woodstock Sessions at Applehead Recording in Woodstock. The live album, recorded in a single take in front of a sold out studio audience with his band consisting of Karina Rykman on bass and Andy Borger on drums, features tracks spanning his career – from “Bus Ride” off his debut album Invisible Baby through the entire title suite from The Story of Fred Short.

The album kicks off with Marco giving the audience his permission to dance as he jumps into “Dropkick” off The Story of Fred Short, setting the tone for this often bouncy and highly danceable set of music. While the pièce de résistance is the entire “The Story of Fred Short” suite, the 22 minute opus spanning styles, the instrumental tracks “Bus Ride,” “Coyote Hearing,” and “Greenpoint” all show off the band’s musical talent. He returns to the bouncy dance music with “At the Show” to close out the album.

While the band is tight and musically talented, Benevento’s vocals are a bit lacking and almost a distraction. However, they aren’t enough of a distraction to prevent this from being a fun collection of tunes. Any Marco fan is sure to enjoy the album, and new listeners can hear a great career-spanning collection of his music. Woodstock Sessions will be released on Feb. 17.

Marco Benevento is currently on tour. He plays New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl tonight followed by The Hollow in Albany tomorrow night. He’ll also be at Higher Ground in nearby South Burlington, Vermont on Saturday. After a few more shows in the Northeast this month, he heads west starting in late-March.

Key Tracks: Dropkick, The Story of Fred Short, Bus Ride, Coyote Hearing

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