Burn to Shine by Ben Harper
A Combination Of Blues, Jazz And Hard Rock
Ben Harpers musical eclecticism has been well established, but what often
goes unnoticed 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 to be peeled and
reassembled. When the mood is ominous, you still sense an urgent
hopefulness around the bend, and even on a jaunty Dixieland number lik e
Suzie Blue, with its playful trombone and clarinet, you can see the clouds
on the horizon. The tension may not always be overt, but its never lower
than just below the surface. Angry, aggressive metal rants; bruising,
bombastic, operatic rockers; lighthearted Caribbean grooves; strutting
Southern boogie; deep country soul; and delicate acoustic folk play out like
scenes within a Byzantine film. Harpers soulful moans, agonized groans,
and earth-shaking whispers narrate this battle between shadows and light,
and his sonic war zone is as dynamic, detailed, and diverse as its ever
been. As weighty as but more personal than its three predecessors, Burn
to Shine has the sensation of grandeur that seems to accompany all of
Harpers work, but its more than a delusion. --Marc Greilsamer
Personal Review: Burn to Shine by Ben Harper
Working on a college radio broadcasting team - we continually obsessed
with playing the song "Always Have To Steal My Kisses" on a regular basis
- as it's upbeat gutair sequence and drum kicks mix perfectly for a sort of
southern type sound, with pop written all over it, always put us in a good
mood.
Thinking it not be the style of my more hard-rocking mates I was suprised
to look into their CD case and see a giant collection of Harper CD's. This
intreged me to buy "Burn To Shine"
As soon as I flipped it into the CD player I was already impressed with the
army-like drumming to introduce the first song "Alone" a song that I
immediately fell in love with. The song sounding a bit more sinister and
darker than the rest of the album, a good kick start.
Following this album was the almost Hendrix-type-soul, "The Woman In
You" this song is tremendously laced with Harpers voice and strong lyrics.
Just a few tracks away stands the best track of the album "Two Hands of A
Prayer" 7 minutes and 50 seconds of pure brilliance of a song - this is what
a song is all about.
Other strong points along the album are "Suzie Blue" which inspires from a
jazz-blues type area, and the awesome track "Forgiven" which is probably
the easiest song on the ears as far as the lyrics are decent - and the rock
of the song will keep you listening.
Track 11 and 12 is a strong way to finish too - "Beloved One" is a piano,
and violin backed song that I listened to probably eight times continually
when I first really got into it - and continually do now - on a regular basis.
And "In The Lords Arms" is Harper all over, easy voice and decent lyrics.
Apart from some - B Grade songs such as "Less" and perhaps "Please
Bleed" (although I wont skip the track) the album is top notch all the way,
Ben Harper as a music writer - covering almost every style possible (and
making each style seem like it's his front style) and The Innocent Criminals
have put together another masterpiece - this probably being his best in my
opinion.
Get A Hold of it. Don't miss out......
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