The first time I listened to this album, I was very pleasantly surprised. It isn't renowned as one of Harper's most successful albums, but it sure is one of his best. From the deeply moving "Beloved One" to the catchy "Steal My Kisses", this album guides you through almost every emotion with the Harper's soft and warming voice being the lead. The lyrics are, as always with Harper, very impressive. There's a real sense that this guy is writing from his own experiences and that comes across through his delivery. It seems he is improvising every time you listen, something you missed the last time suddenly becomes apparent and his genius becomes evident. Musically, again Harper and the Innocent Criminals excel. Every individual band member is talented and it comes across in the music. Small sections of improvisation perfectly executed add to the music, where lesser musicians would have faltered and detracted from the song. Not only is the music satisfying, its also intriguing. This is down to the range of timbre adopted, with the album including many different guitar based instruments - lap slide, steel, acoustic bass, ukulele and 8 string to name but a few, most of which are played by Harper himself. He boasts a talent of being able to play over 20 instruments, one of which he invented himself. My favourite track of this album is "Suzie Blue", a soft jazz-esque track, with trombones, a clarinet, ukulele and double bass. It offers such a contrast from tracks like "Please Bleed" and "Less", both of which adopt a hard rock feel. Then, there's "Show Me A Little Shame", a track which is again jazz-esque but with more passion, a very strong track which brings a smile to ones face (despite what the title might suggest). Overall, this album is a gem waiting to be discovered by the majority. A Ben Harper fan would recognise this album as one of his best, and would surely quote "Steal My Kisses" and "The Woman In You" as the best known from this album as both appear on the live album "Live From Mars". An album well worth exploring, and well worth purchasing.
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Alone @@us/euwm2/618/5084618_1_01.asx?obj=v50810@@ Woman In You ... more
@@us/euwm2/618/5084618_1_02.asx?obj=v50810@@ Less @@us/euwm2/618/5084618_1_03.asx?obj=v50810@@ Two Hands Of A Prayer @@us/euwm2/618/5084618_1_04.asx?obj=v50810@@ Please Bleed @@us/euw...
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Ben Harper's musical eclecticism has been well established, but what often goes unnoticed ... more
is that few musicians possess such an expansive emotional range. And those complex, unsettled emotions never seem to come one at a time; instead, they are layers ...
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