Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals - Lifeline
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.83 You Save: $17.15 (90%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.47 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Lifeline
Free Music Review: Wonderful polished disc for chillin' in the fall
Hit: 4 Stars
First, the knocks on this disc will be that it doesnt necessarily break new ground for BH and that sometimes his songs sound like they could be from Motown, the Stones, or Black Crowes. I get it and understand.
That being said, go out and get this disc! Once you know that story of how it was recorded, you will marvel at just how tight and polished this disc sounds. BH and the Criminals make this album sound like it is a collection of standards, and by that I mean classics!
My favorite songs are Needed You Tonight (I LOVE crankin' this on the car stereo) and Heart of Matters. For a taste of what makes BH special as a musician, check out Paris Sunrise #7, a 5 minute solo acoustic guitar instrumental. I like the variation in styles in the middle of the album with alternating slower songs with upbeat songs
As a sidenote, I was in the deep South for an interview when they played this disc at the restaurant. I felt happy, peppy, and at ease and that is the effect this disc can have on you.
I kind of compare it to another disc I bought recently in Lyle Lovett's new one "It's Not Big It's Large." Neither one really breaks new ground or turns the music world upside down, but both are extremely well crafted discs you can listen to from beginning to end with very high replay value, perfect for either the long commute or sippin' sweet tea on the back porch. And for godssake if you get a chance to see either of them live, run do not walk to the nearest venue!!
Free Music Review: A pleasant surprise
Hit: 4 Stars
I've sort of lost interest in Ben Harper over the years, even though I was a raving fan a few years ago. I thought his music had become too formulaic and cliché. His first three albums are stellar...but I couldn't get into his new music. Then I saw reviews from Amazon members about how good this new album, Lifeline, is. I was skeptical at first, but I thought I would give it a try.
Once the album arrived, I was pleasantly surprised with the eco-friendly packaging. The album is made from recycled paper, no plastics, and it uses low VOC inks. I opened it up and was disappointed that there were no pictures of Ben in the booklet. Please! I need to see pictures of Ben's hotness! There are only images of his band-mates.
Anyway, the first few times I heard the album, I was luke-warm about it. It seemed overly simplistic and still cliché. I thought some songs could be Black Crowes or Neil Young songs. I especially don't like his low voice on the first track. But then the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. Ben is simplistic and simplicity is beautiful. His songs ring true and even the jingly little rifts are full of feeling. I finally can get behind this album and say it is a superb work. Just the fact that it is not digitally enhanced by pro-tools gives it an authenticity that I love. The only thing more I could have asked for would have been more of his beautiful weisenborn solos.
Free Music Review: Better than last year's "Both Sides of the Gun"
Hit: 4 Stars
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals have not been slacking lately: last year they released the double-CD "Both Sides of the Gun" album, followed by a long world tour. At the end of the European leg of that tour in November 2006, the band holed up in a Paris studio and recorded this album in just a matter of one week (not sure why it then took another 10 months or so before the actual release).
"Lifeline" (11 tracks; 41 min.) brings yet another facet of Ben Harper, this time the relaxed singer-songwriter. This becomes immediately clear on the opener "Fight Outta You". Combining folk, soud and country rock, the band brings a more focused effort than on many of its previous studio albums. "Fool for a Lonesome Train" is similar in tempo and atmosphere to "Fight Outta You". "Say You Will" brings a livelier sound, with glimpses of gospel even, and as such stands apart from the mostly introvert sound of the album. The title track closes the album, and is mostly Ben and acoustic guitar, nothing more, nothing less, a great way to finish up the album.
I rate this album 4 stars because it improves over last year's "Both Sides of the Gun" album, which simply was all over the place (and would have been much stronger had it been whittled down to a single CD). That said, I still have not heard the 'perfect' Ben Harper studio album, as his live shows surpass anything he's done in the studio.
Free Music Review: Loose and breezy
Hit: 4 Stars
Ben Harper is one of the few surviving "traditionalists" in todays musical landscape. Even though Harper is a child of the eighties and nineties his music has always been a throwback to the decades before that. Harper has throughout his career shown a high esteem for the Blues and Soul men of the past. The homages to the likes of Robert Johnson and Otis Redding were often well visible on the surface. Not only on his own records but also in the collaborations he has chosen. In the past Harper appeared on the Funk Brothers documentary about Motown's house band and recorded with the Blind Boys of Alabama.
His love of music history and his social awareness has caused his passed records to be somewhat too solemn and serious from time to time. What's so refreshing about this album is that Harper for maybe the first time is his career manages to sound loose and carefree while creating haunting Blues and Soul music on the side. For those who already knew Ben Harper and his work there will be nothing new under the sun, he still does what he's good at. He just never sounded as effortlessly doing it. For those yet to be introduced to his work this is an excellent starting point. Life line is one of those records you'd warmly recommend to anyone who enjoys acoustic and Soulful music. With the coming fall Lifeline feels like a cool summer breeze.
Free Music Review: 4-1/2 stars -- Saved!
Hit: 4 Stars
Perhaps I was a little harsh when I gave Ben Harper's last album Both Sides of the Gun a three-star rating. The problem I had with that album was that, well, I realize that Ben changes his style quite often (especially evident by sometimes doing collaborations with different backing bands for entire albums), but the songs on that album were a little TOO different from one another. Thankfully, things flow more smoothly on Lifeline.
Ben hooked back up with the Innocent Criminals this time around, and it's a good thing he did because the songs are excellent. Well, actually, the album's opener "Fight Outta You" has him singing in a very unorthodoxly low voice, but if you skip past that, you'll find quality in tunes like "Fool for a Lonesome Train", "Heart of Matters" and "Younger Than Today". And although "Needed You Tonight" isn't spiritual, the vocals still take me back to the There Will Be a Light days.
The instrumental track "Paris Sunrise #7" is also good, even better when it successfully flows into the title track. You won't need a lifeline to help you find great music after hearing this album, so check it out.
Anthony Rupert