Friday, May 20th 2011
Reviews: Ben Harper
Ben Harper Takes A Raincheck From Saving The World
After seeing Ben Harper’s personal life become fodder for the likes of TMZ in recent months, it would be easy to fall into the trap of perceiving his eleventh studio album Give Till It’s Gone solely through the lens of his divorce. Certainly, evidence of the emotional toll wrought by his split from Laura Dern is apparent in Harper’s lyrics from the first line of the album’s opener Don’t Give Up On Me Now – “Time,” he sings, “– it opens all wounds.” But Don’t Give Up On Me Now and the rest of Give Till It’s Gone are so much more than a lament on the end of a relationship, as Harper’s performance on the lap slide guitar conjures ghosts of blues, folk, and Rock’s past as his lyrics reveal a man refocusing his life and his take on the human condition.
Give Till It’s Gone is the first studio album since 2006’s Both Sides of the Gun on which Harper does not credit either of his usual backing bands – The Innocent Criminals or The Relentless 7. But star power on other instruments is not lacking. Ringo Starr co-wrote and mans the drum kit on two songs – Spilling Faith and Get There From Here – and Jackson Browne contributed vocals on Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn.
The album’s first single – Rock N’ Roll Is Free – is a rollicking song, full of Harper’s soaring guitar work and exhortations to his fellow man to grab life – and the world – by the balls. Harper recently told The Huffington Post that the song took seed when he watched Neil Young play Rockin’ In The Free World while standing sidestage after opening for Uncle Neil in London’s Hyde Park. Even if he hadn’t chosen a song title so amusingly similar to that of the original, it would be hard not to see this influence, with Harper’s lyrics addressing the same downtrodden elements of society and the need for man to keep pressing forward in the face of unbelievable adversity.
The collaborations with Ringo are the high point of the album. Spilling Faith sounds like a spiritual revival, with Harper exclaiming “things are looking up today,” while questioning “how long have I been looking down?” and concluding to not let one day go to waste. The revival of Spilling Faith literally spills over, with no gap, into the psychedelic nirvana of Get There From Here with, as Harper notes in the Huff Post interview, one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock. An extended jam featuring guitar, piano, drums, tambourines and more, Get There From Here sees Harper exploring previously uncharted territory by channeling the great psychedelic guitarists of the 1960’s and Ringo, well, banging out a classic Ringo beat. These two songs will likely remain married in concert as their styles ensure the combination of styles should flourish in a live setting.
Other highlights include Harper’s take on modern blues in Waiting On A Sign featuring an inspired, heavy, and emotional solo, the soft tones but driving pace of Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn – his duet with Browne on the difficulties in dealing with a relationship’s end, and the closer Do It For You, Do It For Us. Do It For You at times sounds like it was plucked straight from the playbook of Detroit garage rock outfit The Dirtbombs. A muddy, powerful guitar riff paces the album’s sign-off as Harper growls into the microphone about a lover’s devotion. This all gives way to more ripping blues guitar as the song and album wind to a conclusion.
In his essay on Eric Clapton for Rolling Stone’s recent 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Steven Van Zandt wrote that Clapton, Dylan, and Lennon all consciously pulled back from their early “extraordinary, historic” music, choosing instead a life of “doing good work.” “The sprint is cool—,” Little Steven explains, “the marathon is better.”
Give Till It’s Gone is proof that Harper is taking this same route, and settling into a nice, long run of releasing breathtaking music, yet hardly groundbreaking music. Harper couldn’t have put it better himself: “the world isn’t mine to save,” and fortunately that mentality hasn’t stopped him from continuing to contribute great albums showcasing his biggest talents – playing the guitar and penning intensely personal and strikingly beautiful lyrics. But, while his work may never again reach the heights achieved with earlier albums like Welcome to the Cruel World, Fight For Your Mind, and The Will To Live, he continues to put out music that merits attention.
Good review, wasn’t sure what to expect from this one but anything featuring psychedelic jams and garage workouts from Harper is exciting to say the least.