A Whole Lot Better

A Michigan-born songwriter who occupies the rockier end of the power pop spectrum (more indebted to the Who than the Raspberries, that is), Brendan Benson debuted at the age of 26 with a sterling first album, 1996's One Mississippi. He continued working as a solo artist for the better part of a decade, releasing three albums of his own while occasionally appearing on other artists' records. However, Benson remained a minor part of the musical mainstream until 2005, when he began collaborating with...