Happy Holidays: Free Music!

Welcome to "Benefit Street /The American Dream"

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FREE MUSIC (mp3 only)

from the albums

"Benefit Street - The American Dream" (Presence 3301)

and "Rob Carlson & Benefit Street" (What Cheer 3345)

Notes by Paul Payton

(To download on Windows, right-click on each "Click here..." line, and hit "Save as." Re-title it if you wish, and hit "Save." To just listen, left-click to play the song on your computer's mp3 player. )

The original version of "The Bells of St. Stephen's" was recorded in Utica, NY, by the second roster of The American Dream just before I joined the band: Rob Carlson (writer/lead and background vocals/guitar), Mike Parker (lead and background vocals/drums ), David Noyes Roberts (high harmony vocals/bass), Al Silverman (lead guitar), and Bill Bird (organ). The members of the new group, "Rob Carlson & Benefit Street," believed that "St. Stephen's" and "Seven Years" were timeless songs from our original repertoire, so we re-arranged and re-recorded them at The Producers in Fairfield, CT, for the new CD. (On this track, Rob and Vin Pasternak handle guitars and vocals; I play keyboards and bass, Sam Carlson plays drums, and some guest artists also sit in, including Mike Parker reprising his original vocal part.) Here are the full original and new versions of "St. Stephen's." (You can click here to read about and listen to samples of all the tracks on the original band's album, and here to explore the new band's CD.)

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Click here for The American Dream's "The Bells of St. Stephen's" (1968)

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Click here for Rob Carlson & Benefit Street's "The Bells of St. Stephen's" (2011). (Note: this is a remastered version, posted 9/6/11, of the song that appeared on our now-deleted EP with additional tracks and improved sound.)

For a look at the interior of St. Stephen's (from whence those bells came), click here. For its history and historic photos, click here.

"Seven Years," a beautiful Rob Carlson composition, was also recorded by both the original and the new band. The original version was recorded in 1970 at Aengus Studios in Winchester, MA, owned by Andy Pratt (of "Avenging Annie" fame); the engineer was Bill Reisman. Personnel: Rob Carlson, guitar & vocal; Paul Payton, piano and organ; David Noyes Roberts, bass; Tim Jackson, drums; and lead guitarist Josh Barrett played the haunting recorder part. The 2011 version again showcases Rob's vocal and acoustic guitar; I play keyboards and bass; Vin Pasternak plays the beautiful violin counter-melody and Sam Carlson provides the percussion. Again, both tracks are the full versions from their respective albums.

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Click here for Benefit Street's original "Seven Years" (1970).

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Click here for Rob Carlson & Benefit Street's "Seven Years" (2011). (Note: this is a remastered and partially re-recorded version, posted 9/6/11, of the song that appeared on our now-deleted EP with additional tracks and improved sound.)

One final note: Rob Carlson & Benefit Street's new FULL-LENGTH ALBUM was released on September 1, 2011. Our CD RELEASE PARTY is FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th at The Fairfield Theatre Company in Fairfield, CT. For our New York friends, MetroNorth trains stop 150 feet from the theater door - no car required! Details and tickets are posted here (scroll down to the date). There will also be some choice seats available at the box office the night of the show. We'll see you there!Other performances are on our gigs page. Please come see and hear us; we'd love the company.Enjoy the music, and please stop at the comment section on the home page and say hello!

To purchase copies either Benefit Street album (and more), click here (a new window will open) or buy them at our performances.

To download other songs, click here.

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