Brendan Benson

by Stewart Mason
On the rockier end of the power pop spectrum (more Who than Raspberries, that is), Michigan-born, Berkeley, CA-based singer/songwriter Brendan Benson debuted at the age of 26 with a sterling first album, 1996s One Mississippi. Unfortunately, record company troubles both before and after the fact damaged the momentum of the record. Jason Falkner (Jellyfish, the Grays, etc.) co-wrote over half the songs on the album with Benson, but the first version of the album, produced by Falkner, was rejected by the label, which put Benson back in the studio with new producer Ethan James (Janes Addiction, etc.). Several of the Falkner-produced tunes were released by Virgin on a limited-edition EP called The Wellfed Boy not long after One Mississippi came out. As major-label power pop albums are wont to do, One Mississippi sold fairly poorly, despite positive reviews. Benson spent the next several years extricating himself from his Virgin contract while producing and appearing on other artists records. Lapalco marked his independent debut, and its critical success spurred his return to the majors in 2005 with The Alternative to Love. Benson then began collaborating with fellow Michiganian Jack White, of the White Stripes, writing Steady, as She Goes. The four-piece Raconteurs formed soon after, releasing that song as their first single, and their album, Broken Boy Soldiers, in the spring of 2006.