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Benmont Tench on His New Solo Album, ‘The Melancholy Season,’ and His Unmelancholy Delight in Being a Survivor: ‘I’m Finally Getting Good, You Know?’
Benmont Tench, keyboard player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, talks about his album, 'The Melancholy Season,' and a scary reason it got delayed.
The man who is arguably the most famous or legendary keyboard sideman in rock talked with Variety about the circumstances of his new album, his current west coast tour (with more dates to be added further east) and his eternal eagerness to salute his forebears. And I knew pretty much right away the painting that I wanted for the cover, which fit in really well with the title, I thought, and the fact that the song “Melancholy Season” starts at dusk with the constellation Orion on the threshold; it hasn’t risen yet. Taylor on the song “Like Crystal” plays this gorgeous nylon string solo that’s to me straight out of “El Paso” or “Desolation Row.” … To make it with a small ensemble, that was fine by me and I love the way it came out, and Jonathan and I tried to keep it as spare as we could.
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