About twenty five years ago I had a Ben Harper CD which I treasured. I got a lot of wear and tear out of it, if that's the right term to apply to a CD that you play a lot. Ben seemed to know what was going on. He had a lot of wisdom. A lot of soul. He seemed a lot older in actual years than he really was.
He's back, with a new album. It's his seventeenth and it's called Wide Open Light. To my knowledge it's had little fanfare, which is a darned shame as it's certainly up there with the best new records you could possibly listen to today.
Ben can sound like other artists. He's well versed. Sometimes here he can sound a bit like Cat Stevens. At other times he can sound a bit like Bill Withers. On one song, Randy Newman even. Listen to Wide Open Light and see who he reminds you of. Really of course by now he deserves his own space. His own respect and consideration.
He has a lilting, yearning voice with bucket loads of soul. He knows life is difficult sometimes but has plenty of consolation and joy to offer. I'm not quite sure why he's not more widely feted but I imagine he has a constituency that are fiercely loyal to him. He certainly deserves one.
Anyhow, this is another mighty and distinguished record. Mostly it's just Ben, his guitar and his voice though there are embellishments. He's someone who doesn't really need much more. His songs and talent speak for themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment