Ben Harper - Live from Mars
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Free Music Notes for Live from Mars
Free Music Review: Underappriciated
Hit: 5 Stars
This double album cements the fact, that on top of being one of the most gifted artist around, he is also underappriciated and versitile. Great Album, a must buy.Free Music Review: Live from Mars- Ben Harper and the Inocent Criminals
Hit: 5 Stars
Greatly written songs. Powerful music by great artists. A must-have for any fan of music of any kindFree Music Review: Another gem from Harper, mostly hits with a few duds...
Hit: 4 Stars
Ben Harper is one of those artists that completely redefines himself with his live music. While his studio stuff is excellent, his live music is noteworthy because he ventures far from his studio versions. He mixes it up while live as he plays with the crowd and improvises often leading to extended jams and emotional outpouring.
Harper choose to divide this release into two separate discs with the first one being more electric guitar driven and rocking while the second disc is more acoustic and mellow. A good idea in theory but I think overall this would have served better as a one disc set.
On disc one almost every song is a sure fire gem. The versions of Woman In You, Steal My Kisses and Excuse Me Mr. exceed their studio counterparts. The disc provides many surprises for Harper fans who haven't heard him live before. He meshes with the band well and they are generally tight although not as well polished as in the studio. I think this actually makes the music better as ups the feeling and inventiveness twofold. The first disc was a regular in my CD rotation before IPOD came along.
The second disc is pretty much the opposite. It is slow and mellow and a bit much at times. These ballads are excellent when intermingled in Harper's concerts with his other songs. But a disc full of them is a misfire as it becomes boring and dreadful. Two songs stand out from the rest though. Please Bleed and The Drugs Don't Work have to be heard to be believed and they are clearly the highlights of disc 2.
Harper's music is excellent for so many reasons and really appropriate for all occasions. Finding music which you can work to, read to, drive to or have on when entertaining is rare and Live From Mars continues this tradition.
Bottom Line: A must have for Harper fans but probably could have been a one disc issue. A good place to start for those just discovering Harper.
Free Music Review: Excellent Overview of Ben Harper Live
Hit: 4 Stars
I must admit I never was a big Ben Harper fan. It's not that I didn't like him, it's just that I was never 'moved' by his music. That was, until I saw him live recently. Wow, what a show that was. So of course I went out and bought this album.
"Live from Mars" (25 tracks, 137 min.) comes in 2 parts. CD 1 (12 tracks, 74 min.) is Ben Harper and his band the Innocent Criminals rocking out to the max. There are really no bad songs on this set, but the highlights for me include the opener "Glory & Consequence", "Woman in You" and the closer "Faded/Whole Lotta Love" (yes, the Led Zep classic). CD 2 (13 tracks, 63 min.) is Ben Harper solo and accoustic. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but after a while it becomes a bit too much of the same. Nevertheless, the cover of the Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work" is a classic, showing Harper's versatility in choosing cover songs.
In all, "Live from Mars" is a great live set, although it could've been even better if it didn't so artificially carve up Ben Harper and his band going full tilt from Ben Harper going solo accoustic.
Free Music Review: The Mood is missing
Hit: 4 Stars
The music is good. This CD is meant for 2 disc shuffle mode, and then, tah-dah, 5 stars. The editor messes with the set order in such a way that the entire second disc is acoustic mellow. Many of these songs and versions of them sound very similiar to each other. In concert and on disc Ben Harper's acoustic songs stand out when they are spaced apart or between some rockers. The contrast is necessary to really make the songs stand out. If I were seeing this list in concert (I have been to BH shows) I would wonder where... his... band is and when they are coming back. At the real show the acoustic breaks work....here they do not. Also the crowd mix is annoying. Sometimes it is too loud in the beginning of the songs and then it just drops out.....as if trying to say, BANG, remember, this is a live album. The old hammer to the skull reminder is very bothersome. I am a big fan of Ben Harper's, but felt so more thought should have gone into the production of this disc. One last point, the Faded into, Zeps, Whole Lotta Love, is worth the price of admission.