East Nashville singer/songwriter Benjamin Jason Douglas is out with an excellent debut album, First World Blues – a polished set jangly Americana that touches on themes like heartache, family dysfunction, faith, the downtrodden, and blue collar life. What makes Douglas stand out is his weathered, world-weary vocals, gifted storytelling, whimsical sense of humor, and clever wordplay. First World Blues was produced Joe Lekkas (Palm Ghosts) and written and recorded over three-year period from 2014-2017 at Greenland studios in Nashville with Douglas (acoustic/electric guitar, keys, lead vocals), Ryan Dishen (electric guitar, backing vocals), Erin Nelson (drums/percussion, backing vocals), and Lekkas (bass, keys, backing vocals). Album highlights include: the heartbreaker “Raggedy Andy Williams”; the soulful yet frank “Beat Black and Blue Collar Blues”; the chillin’ tale delivered in “Walking Down the Grain”; the gospel-tinged “Tentpole”; the bluesy acoustic number “Doc Red Blues”; and the tender-hearted “Streetpreacher.” Benjamin Jason Douglas has been compared to a number of great singer/songwriters ranging John Prine and Guy Clark to Randy Newman, Dr. John and Tom Waits, and if you a fan of them you will love Douglas’ music. First World Blues is a top-notch debut release from an artist I can’t wait to hear more from. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Dr. John, Mark Lanegan, William Elliott Whitmore, Tom Waits