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Mr. Tambourine Man: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
It may not be immediately apparent, but the “Forever Young” track list is intended to reflect the arch of the day. From from “Rainbow Connection” through “Moon River,” the lyrics, instrumentation, and...
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You Are My Sunshine: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
Funny how things change. Years ago now, I was in a country cover band called The Smith Family. Almost Home producer Kevin Anthony had tired of of his techno outfit, Electroland, so formed the band with...
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Sweet Baby James: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
Jeff Jacobson and Patrick Riley have never met, and are separated by a thousand miles of Heartland. Still, they helped me create one of the most-beautiful recordings of my life. For nearly twenty...
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You’ve Got A Friend: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
I’d been angling to collaborate with Raining Jane’s Mai Bloomfield for nearly three years. It took me that long to find the right song. I first met Mai in 2008. Raining Jane was opening for The Nadas...
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Golden Slumbers: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
The hardest part about recording “Golden Slumbers” with Casey Shea was asking Casey Shea to record “Golden Slumbers.” I’ve known Mr. Shea pushing ten years now. Still, it didn’t take ten minutes to...
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Top Ten Christmas Songs That Rock
It’s presumably little surprise that I love Christmas songs. Not, like, all Christmas songs. Christmas songs with a backbeat. Christmas songs that rock. You, Dear Reader, may recall that it all began...
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My Sunshine
Difficult to tell for sure, but I think today’s the day it clicked for Maggie. “Oh, that sound I keep hearing from the speakers is Daddy.” Maggie’s a handfull. I mean, she’s actually quite fun: short...
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Rachel Platten’s 53 Steps Into The Great Unknown
Most major music careers begin on modest stages. Springsteen cut his teeth at Asbury Park’s Stone Pony. Elton John made his stateside splash at LA’s Troubadour. And Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta...
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Sunny On These Days
Tonight’s my first rock show in more than a year, and I’m a little bit freaked. Other than “A Holiday Benefit, Vol. IV” in December (where I performed two Christmas standards), and the “Forever Young”...
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R.E.M.: Life And How To Live It
I’m pretty sure I’d never seen a man wearing eyeliner, let alone one stabbing, sweating and strutting his way shirtless across a stage back lit by 16mm film of fish swimming in slow-motion. I was in...
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