Beautiful Thing is an album by the American rock and roll musician Ben Vaughn (credited to the Ben Vaughn Combo), released in 1987.[2][3] The album's final track, "The Apology Line", is covered on Barrence Whitfield's Ow! Ow! Ow![4]
| Beautiful Thing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Restless[1] | |||
| Producer | Ben Vaughn | |||
| Ben Vaughn chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editThe album was produced by Vaughn, who also wrote the songs.[5] Mostly acoustic, the songs were in part inspired by radio disc jockey patter and random conversations overheard by Vaughn.[6][7] The band used bongos, hubcaps, maracas, and accordion on many of the tracks.[8] "Big House with a Yard" is about a man asking his girlfriend to visit him in prison.[9]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [10] |
| Chicago Tribune | [11] |
| Robert Christgau | B[12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [1] |
| Goldmine | [9] |
| New Musical Express | 9/10[13] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [14] |
| Richmond Times-Dispatch | B[6] |
Robert Christgau thought that, "unlike many comedians, this mild-mannered male chauvinist is funniest when he lets on how clever he is."[12] Trouser Press wrote that "Beautiful Thing has a fresh, easygoing feel, but too much restraint can be dangerous: halfway through the first side, this mild record threatens to slide right off the turntable."[15] The New York Times concluded that "all the three-chord rock of the 1950's and 60's—rockabilly, surf-rock, Cajun, rhythm-and-blues, country—twangs and relaxes together in the Ben Vaughn Combo, as Mr. Vaughn talk-sings his way through droll, understated songs without a hint of rock's latter-day histrionics."[16] The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "a marvelously eclectic collection of rock styles and romantic observations."[14]
The Philadelphia Daily News called the tracks "clever, evocative new songs in a time honored, timeless style," writing that the band "has a slap happy simplicity and ragged enthusiasm that's anachronistic, that seems a throwback to the 1950s rockabilly era of Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper."[17] The Washington Post determined that "sometimes Vaughn sounds like what might have happened if Lou Reed had influenced Bob Dylan rather than the other way around, but he always manages a neat wedding of lyric and melody."[4] The Chicago Tribune stated that "Vaughn brings some uncommon touches to numbers about male-female relationships."[11] The State included Beautiful Thing on its list of the ten best albums of 1987.[8]
AllMusic wrote that "the tunes on Beautiful Thing never hit harder than they have to or take up more space than necessary, and their modesty only adds to their effectiveness."[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jerry Lewis in France" | |
| 2. | "Clothes Don't Make the Man" | |
| 3. | "Beautiful Thing" | |
| 4. | "The North Wind Blew" | |
| 5. | "Shingaling with Me" | |
| 6. | "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" | |
| 7. | "She's a Real Scream" | |
| 8. | "Big House with a Yard" | |
| 9. | "On the Rebound" | |
| 10. | "A Good Woman Is Hard to Find" | |
| 11. | "Desert Boots" | |
| 12. | "The Apology Line" |
References
edit- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. pp. 406–407.
- ^ "Ben Vaughn Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Leigh, Keri (November 6, 1987). "Vaughn Combo Shakes Up VZD". North. The Daily Oklahoman. p. 14.
- ^ a b Joyce, Mike (15 Jan 1988). "Blues and Rock, Barrence and Ben". The Washington Post. p. N17.
- ^ Healy, James (November 1, 1987). "Ben Vaughn Combo, 'Beautiful Thing'". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald.
- ^ a b Perry, Claudia (December 27, 1987). "Reverence for Pop". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. G11.
- ^ Hoekstra, Dave (November 27, 1987). "Ben Vaughn reaches toward his dream". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 7.
- ^ a b Miller, Michael L. (January 1, 1988). "1987 Left Rock 'n' Roll in Status Quo". The State. p. 8B.
- ^ a b Sclafani, Tony (Apr 11, 2008). "Beautiful Thing". Goldmine. Vol. 34, no. 8. pp. 48, 49.
- ^ a b "Beautiful Thing". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Popson, Tom (11 Sep 1987). "From America to Yugoslavia: New Indie LPs". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. H.
- ^ a b "Ben Vaughn Combo". Robert Christgau.
- ^ The Legend! (2 January 1988). "Ben Vaughn Combo: Beautiful Thing". New Musical Express. p. 26.
- ^ a b Tucker, Ken (27 Sep 1987). "The Ben Vaughn Combo, Beautiful Thing". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. J4.
- ^ "Ben Vaughn Combo". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (8 Jan 1988). "Sounds Around Town". The New York Times. p. C6.
- ^ Takiff, Jonathan (18 Sep 1987). "Ben Day". Features Friday. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 53.