Salt & Light by benjamin & the bible

In the fall of 2010, having already set the beatitudes to music, I set out to create an album based around the remaining portion of Matthew 5. Most of these songs came together, at least in skeletal form, in the following few months (as did other stuff set aside for future albums). Recording began in late November of the same year. Originally I’d planned to have the album finished by 2011, but no. Around that time, someone more experienced in executing ambitious creative projects told me they usually take about 3 times longer than one first imagines. That sounded not too bad.

Thirteen years later here we are. Most of the recording was finished in the first couple of years; the difficult part for me was the computer stuff—editing, mixing, mastering. A billion little decisions, mostly made in the dark of inexperience. Trial upon trial, error upon error. Inability to give up apparently contradictory aesthetic ideals. Years’ work on a certain song discarded in favour of an earlier version I’d failed to improve. And plenty of distraction, procrastination, and also just doing other things. But it’s done now, I’ve released it, and I don’t think it’s half bad for all that.

Salt & Light is dedicated to Jeff Becker, who, with generous gifts of opportunity and relatively few words of instruction, showed me basics in editing and mixing, making this and other DIY projects possible. Warm thanks, too, to everyone who supported my efforts in various ways over the long course of this album being in the works. And glory to the god who loves us regardless.
–Ben

Tracklist

1.	the heavens	2:44

2.	salt & light	1:43

3.	the law	2:15

4.	to fulfill	3:11

5.	brother anger	2:42

6.	heart adultery	1:12

7.	put-away wives	1:10

8.	yea or nay	2:16

9.	give	1:28

10.	sun & rain love	2:59

11.	perfect	2:48

12.	without excuse	1:55

13.	purpose of the heart	1:55

14.	errors, faults & willful sins	3:18

15.	sand & grass	2:51

16.	God is good	2:08

17.	alternative water hymn	2:37

18.	instrumental heavens reprise	0:35

19.	give thanks	2:20

Credits

released January 8, 2024

Northern flicker (red-shafted): squeaky chirps on the heavens
Ashton Glass: vocals on all songs except heart adultery, put-away wives, God is good and give thanks; brief beatbox on the heavens, kalimba on purpose of the heart, castanet and wood stick and block on sand & grass, 1/2-size classical guitar on alternative water hymn; recording assistance on early Becker Studio sessions; also came up with the melody used in the breakdown section of perfect
Elsa Heath: 1/2-size cello on the law outro (figuring out the Lord of the Rings theme during inspiring lesson with Ben)
Toaster timer: doing its thing on brother anger
Kathryn Goodnow: one of the ‘wake up’ voices on put-away wives
Cars: driving by on put-away wives
Nicholas Vaughan: beatboxing on perfect
Lawrence the greyhound: lapping up water on purpose of the heart
Rain: falling on errors, faults & willful sins
Rex Heath: cork gun and balloons on alternative water hymn
Rachel Berquist, Scott Conover, Jon Heath, Karin Heath, Alison Osborne and Linnea Reed: group vocals on alternative water hymn
Ben Vaughan: window, harmonicas, vocals, 1/4-size classical guitar without D string, open-back banjo, 1/2-size cello, glockenspiel, kalimba, foot stomps, file cabinet, 3/4 and full-size classical guitars, accordion, sandpaper, wooden güiro shaker, Kidz Beats drum, hand claps, creaky wooden chair, rice shaker, lentil shaker, washboard tie, recorder, mouth trumpet, piano, makeshift banjo snare drum, water on hot frying pan, sticky metal drawers, chest and thigh smacks, mandolin, crumpled paper, computer keyboard, triangle, spring doorstop, balloons, plastic bottles, metal can, miniature gong, floppy metal book markers and forgotten other percussion; all writing, recording, editing, mixing, mastering, and cover art.

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