virgin
Ben Harper makes his march into town on his first track, “Alone”. The album has a spaghetti western feel, but on occasion is more like a walk into Tombstone than into Bonanza.
Harper is one of those singers with an undeniably recognizable voice. The biggest problem is that most people haven’t heard him due to his lack of radio-friendly tracks. He isn’t easy to shoehorn into one category, so radio just doesn’t know what to do with him. If you were to couple Eagle-Eye Cherry and Lenny Kravitz you’d get half of the Ben Harper picture. He’s more of an unknown commodity, one you’d assume college kids would latch onto and brag about to all of their less educated friends. His dreamy sequences spawn moments of magic and leave the instruments lost in the fog.
“Less” was a major surprise. If you’ve been a Harper fan in the past, this destructive rock song may surprise you. “Please Bleed” is similar in the amount of damage it produces. That’s quite surprising when you consider that Harper is most well-known for the mellow moods he usually induces. The title track, “Burn To Shine”, sounds like a Lenny Kravitz B-side. “Forgiven” burns with vigor and no regrets.
Like a perfect story, Harper ends his album on a cloud, floating in and out of your mind. He might be a bit hard to swallow for your average music listener. No, this isn’t some complex work, but it doesn’t easily plug into any genre. I think that might be why he went with the more upbeat, faster rock tracks, in hopes of getting some radio play. I once thought Harper was in his element producing mellow, spiritual songs, but when he revs his engine he is still fantastic.
+ rae gun
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