Considering his status among Britain's finest blues composers, it's always seemed somewhat galling that Duster Bennett is best known for his cover of the Kinks' "Act Nice and Gentle" -- although when you hear it, you can understand why. Without deviating at all far from Ray Davies' magical prototype, Bennett imbues the song with all the emotion and joy which Davies himself buried beneath weary cynicism, while guitarist Top Topham lets rip with exactly the kind of guitar playing that ensured he remained a legend long after he left the Yardbirds. "Act Nice and Gentle" opens side two of Bennett's third album -- perhaps deliberately, it is immediately followed by "Woman Without Love," a song which finds Bennett enacting an almost note-perfect Ray Davies impersonation, while strings and a superbly syrupy backing chorus build tear-blindingly up behind him. Past Bennett albums showcased the performer. 12 Dbs showcases the artist. If 12 Dbs is Bennett's best-produced and certainly most adventurous album, although that's not to say it lacks any of the humor, spark, and verve which highlight its predecessors. "Slim's Blues" is a magnificent plod, the blues when they first wake up in the morning; "Vitamin Pills" is a 12-bar shuffle which disguises its utterly surreal lyric with an absolutely traditional soundtrack; and "That Mean Old Look" is a riotous talking blues, apologizing for a nightmarish night on the town with his girl. So it's business as idiosyncratically usual, and the best track of all has not even been mentioned. "I Chose to Sing the Blues" is a Stones-ey R&B-flavored grind which outlines all the things he could have done, if he hadn't become a singer. Gambler, lover, president, or doctor, he threw them all away, and 12 Dbs proves he made the right choice. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
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