Release date: 1999
Review Date: June 2000
Rough and ready as they come.
First Impressions
Ben Harper has always had a strong following in Australia. He has received
a lot of airplay on Triple J (Australia's national youth station) and
many of my friends think the world of his live performances, but I have
never been inclined to discover his music - until now.
Versatile is the first word that comes to mind about this album. Ben
seems at home playing country-rock and folk in "Suzie Blue"
as he does playing more standard heavy guitar numbers such as "Forgiven".
I was quite surprised at this actually, and his versatility does certainly
stand up live when I saw him two days ago at the Hordern Pavilion. This
man is a real musician, unlike all the garage bands that seem to make
big bucks these days.
I like his voice as well - expressive but not over-the-top. In songs
like "Woman in You" and "Beloved" it brought a tear
to my eye! His lyrics have a strong religous/spritual theme and to me
these songs seem like little prayers of his!
Fav Moment
I love Ben's slide guitar work, my favourites being the songs "Forgiven"
and "Less" where he gives the guitar a real thrashing. From
the softer tracks I liked "Two Hands of Prayer" with its delicate
guitar work and "Beloved" with some of the best vocals on the
album.
Rating
3 1/2 out of 5. A real mixed bag - some songs were stronger than others,
but on the whole a satisfying introduction to the music of Ben Harper. |
