Four cover songs recorded live on August 16th, 2011 direct to quarter inch tape upstairs in the historic United Record Pressing record release room. All analog and cut at 45RPM for the ultimate listening experience.
* Beloved musician, songwriter, producer and co-leader ofThe Raconteurs

* Critically adored across the board. Esquire Magazie states Benson’s music is ”Reasssuring, relaxing, and intensely pleasurable.”

* Prepping new release for 2012, What Kind of World in addition to albums produced for The Lost Brothers(Ireland) and Young Hines
In Brendan Benson lays a genuine American voice. It has a gleam to it, a West Coast shimmer, the shine of a sleek new fender. With a lifetime spread across four states, from a childhood spent on the outskirts of New Orleans, to his years in Detroit, Michigan, sojourns in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a more recent relocation to Nashville, Tennessee, inevitably an itinerant quality can be heard in his songwriting, a geographical and emotional search for somewhere to belong. It is a style he has honed, of course. On 1996′s One Mississippi, the songs came rough-hewn but charged with hooks and with wit; 2002′s Lapalco brought a perfect pop ripeness, and by The Alternative to Love in 2005, there was something quite brilliant, quite burnished about his songwriting. Along the way he has co-written and recorded two spectacular albums with the Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers and Consolers of the Lonely. 2009′s offering, My Old, Familiar Friend, gathers together all of these influences – the Americanness, the Anglophile twist, the geography, the rock and the pop to create something truly exceptional. Benson is currently prepping his latest release, What Kind of World, due in 2012.

ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Upstairs At United, is an all-analog series of vinyl record releases recorded inside the historic United Record Pressingplant. Each recording is captured directly on analog tape then cut to 12″ EP’s at 45 RPM. The records are presented in Kraft-style packaging that highlights the authentic all-analog approach used in making these records, which includes session-specific inserts with color photos from the recording sessions, and come in archival quality resealable poly bags.
The goal of the Upstairs At United series is to not only release beautiful music recorded in a classic all analog style, but also to celebrate the rich musical and cultural history that’s taken place inside this 49 year old building. Established in 1949, United Record Pressing is the oldest vinyl record manufacturing facility in America. The doors to its present location first opened in 1962; in response to a then segregated South, United created an apartment above the plant to host the record label executives and artists who were excluded from hotel accommodations due to the color of their skin. This apartment, now called the “Motown Suite,” is still furnished in its original décor. Adjacent to the apartment is a large space solely dedicated to hosting record release parties and other events for labels and artists. Among the many, it’s believed that this room hosted parties for The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, The Cowsills, Wayne Newton, and a signing party for a 16-year-old Hank Williams, Jr. In addition to existing as a monument to our musical and cultural history, the space upstairs at United Record Pressing continues to host events for artists, labels, and other lovers of music. It is in this sacred space that the Upstairs At United series is being recorded.
The recordings were engineered by Chris Mara and his analog studio Welcome to 1979 located in Nashville, Tennessee. All recordings were done live directly to ¼ inch analog tape using a sixteen channel vintage recording console and vintage microphones and outboard gear, with no overdubs, edits or audio sweetening. What you hear is music in its most pure form: the recordings capture the end product of the artists together in a single room, complete with all of the enthusiasm, spirit and soul that is the foundation for this great art form.

Track Listing:
Side A:
1. Candidate (David Bowie)
2. Strangers (The Kinks)

Side B:
1. Beyond Belief (Elvis Costello)
2. Love Story (Randy Newman)