"Pop, Folk, Rock, Progressive Rock influences merge in this innovative collaboration between the music of Ben Rusch and the lyrics of Simon Charlton."

Ben: Simon and I were keen on the idea of creating an entire album together, so after developing a concept, I asked for lyrics that would work with what we had in mind.

Musically, the aim was to afford Simon's incredible lyrics as much breathing space as possible. In some songs, that philosophy yielded intricate arrangements - e.g. in "I Will Love You For A Long Time..." or "She Comes To Me In My Hour Of Weakness") - to reflect the emotional depth of the poetry; other songs are unadorned and patient - e.g. "How Long Must I Wait..." or "That Night When We Fell" - letting the song be carried on the strong shoulders of the lyrics . The overall sound of the album is organic and natural, with a high dynamic range and, if I may say so, interesting ways of creating a modern Rock/Folk sound with a range of untypical instruments in the mix.

Simon:
'The Truth of All Love' is an album where Folk and Jazz find expression alongside Rock and Americana in an alchemy of sounds created by Ben, who thankfully refuses the workaday stomp of guitar, bass, and drums. The songs are coloured with piano, accordion, mandolin, saxophone, percussion, and viola. The range of instrumentation providing for multiple shades of sound that carry the vocal to the heart of the lyric - the core of the flame. Here are the raw elements of a world that is intensely personal whilst at the same time being wholly universal; love as hallelujah and love as horror.

Ben's music seems a paradoxical embracing of a complex simplicity that allows for ease of entry into the song whilst never settling into a wearying repetition of second-hand cliché and empty gesture. Given such a tenderly created framework I believe that the love song here rises from the mire of redundancy, challenging both musically and lyrically its tendency towards the teeth achingly saccharine, the vapid, and over-stressed.

In a world where the disingenuous seek to hold sway 'The Truth of All Love' concerns itself with emotional truths, truths located in the lyrics, truths given greater resonance and range by Ben's music and voice. In a world where so much of music is merely dead sound echoing through a house of cards 'The Truth of All Love' is a deliberately defiant creation of substance. The same defiance exhibited by the strangers gathering the bloodstained shards of their broken hearts. Despite love's trials, its torments and tears, they still believe and that perhaps, finally, is the truth of all love...

Ben and Simon:
We are deeply grateful to Cosmo Wallace who (was) volunteered to create a beautiful piece of art for the album cover. We hope the songs find their way into your ears, minds and hearts, there to live and breathe, and to sing hauntingly beautiful songs when the mood strikes them. Enjoy!

1. That Night when we Fell
2. I will Love you for a Long Time because you're Holy
3. And She my Vision will again be Known
4. She Comes to me in my Hour of Weakness
5. Until the End of Days
6. The Ballads are Soaked in Whisky
7. How Long Must I Wait Until the Ocean
8. Promised Land
9. The Ghost of you is the Heart of me
10. In Loneliness and Wine
11. The World is Turned to Darker Days
12. The Truth of all Love

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 12/24/2010
Ben Rusch lives in London England

Tagged as: Alt Rock, Folk-Rock

1. Evil Must Die by My Woshin Mashin: Crossover-Electronic, Chaos-Pop
2. The In Between by Anton Cosmo: rock superstar to be
3. Formantine by Emmalee Crane: ambient, orchestral drone music
4. Santa Take the Night Off by Emma Wallace: angst-free modern ragtime
5. Relax With Forest by Satori: healing, meditative ambient new age
6. Calm by Kourosh Dini: minimalist piano with slashes of ambient electronics
7. Relax With Ocean by Satori: healing, meditative ambient new age
8. Music from Braid by Sieber, Kammen and Fulton: dreamy music from the acclaimed video game Braid
9. Hidden Sky by Jami Sieber: enchanting cello compositions
10. Eric 2 by Eric Kamen: Urban Flamenco
11. Songs from the Second World by Jesse Manno: middle eastern/balkan music and new age
12. Et Cetera by Roe: A journey into the deep, beyond the bounds of ambient music
13. Opium by Sherefe: Balkan and Middle Eastern Music
14. JS Bach Trios on Guitar by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
15. Submission by Jay Kishor: Music without preservatives
16. Collectors of Souls by Chiwawa: He who sings thinks no evil
17. Only a Tronic Selection by Ambient Teknology: upbeat underground with shades of new wave
18. The Reformation Sessions by Jay Kishor: Music without preservatives
19. We Live Lies by macabro: mechanical flowers under the electric sunset
20. The Vision Of Enoch by Sulis: heavenly, healing, early music

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