Customer Reviews

Lifeline (Vinyl)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album is different to other BH-releases in many ways. First of all the genesis of this record was very different than on previous ones. The album was recorded at a long tour about to end in Paris and it was done with all members of the Innocent Criminals putting in their own input in many ways. Then there's the way how it was recorded: in one week on full-analogue vintage equipment. Oh yes, and it was recorded in Paris, France.

The other difference to Ben Harper's earlier albums is that there's not great variation of different styles. This is an acoustic-soul album, like the band already had said. The songs are great in my opinion and the band plays really tight and groovy and Ben's singing is better and more powerful than ever before.

The record is very coherent and really works as an album. It's a pleasure to listen to it from the beginning to the end.

I know that this isn't what a number of fans were expecting but I think that this is a great piece of music and am glad that Ben Harper always does something which is a bit different than things's he has done before.

Oh, and I'm really jealous of the american people that have the opportunity to attend the shows of the Lifeline-tour this fall in the US.

Buy this album, it's really great!

Ben Harper is relatively more famous here on Italy than on USA, I saw him play live for the first time on a small club on 1995 when he was unknow.
One of the most emotional concert of my life.
I saw him live last time at the end of 2006 during the european tour, few months before recording this wonderful CD.
I like almost every B.H. CDs, but I love way more is live performance ant this album reflect all the intensity of the long tour just done.
On the first concert was his guitar skill to stand, on the last was his voice...
...I will never forget when while performing "Where Could I Go" (from the CD with "Blind Boys of Alabama") he just make the (great) band to stop playing
and resume singin' alone outside of the mic, no amplification, only pure emotion!
This is the feeling you can find on this piece of art.
So (if you love this kind of music) buy it!
And if you can, GO to see one of his live concert...

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.

It baffles me why Ben Harper doesn't receive more accolades than he does. He's one of the best singer-songwriters around. His performances are like vintage soul with new themes added to a timeless groove.

"Lifeline" could be it--the CD that actually gets him those awards. Til then, psst--you can say you liked Ben Harper early.

Harper often traverses the whole emotional gamut in his music and "Lifeline" is no different. His opener, "Fight Outta You" could be a father's advice, a commencement speech, or just a pick-me-up on a bad day:

it will be in your honor
'til you're not needed any longer
don't believe the headlines
check it for yourself sometimes
the lies you live become you
the love you lose it numbs you
they say that you've arrived
that's just a high class bribe
don't let them take the fight
outta you

"In the Colors" is the hit from this CD if KGSR-Austin's playlist is any indication. It's another song that offers hope to the hopeless:

when you again start hoping
with your arms wide open
dance with me into the colors
of the dusk

If you're a fool for train songs like I am, you're going to love "Fool For a Lonesome Train." You can almost hear the whistle in the rain.

Several songs deal with lost love, including "Younger than Today."

"Lifeline" has something for just about every mood and I can honestly say that most of the tracks stand out in one way or another. It's very hard for me to believe that Harper and the Innocent Criminals managed to record this CD in 7 days in Paris, but if anyone could, this talented group is the one!

No doubt many people will come to this album thinking about Ben's last solo album, Both Sides of the Gun. This is all about growing up. The Innocent Criminals are back and they truly shine on this release. How Ben Harper only has a compact amount of avid followers compared to other great musicians, is really beyond my ability to grasp.

Buy this album.

this is same old mediocre stuff Ben has been putting out since around Burn to Shine....its too bad too, I used to get really inspired by his music too.

Probablemente el mejor disco de Ben Harper. Sonido soulero y de raices. Grandes canciones, gran producción y sonido y un disco fabuloso que apetece escuchar una y otra vez.

hey look I am first on the review for this weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

its worth the extra few bucks for the DVD, the sound is awesome

Ben "goes off" on a couple songs, pretty cool fooling around, Ben likes that word "fool" a few times in these songs, and the band is great as always. If you want to see this CD in concert, this is pretty much about what its going to be, so if you didnt get tickets, then spend the extra 5 and get this combo CD/DVD deal.

the end is really cool, with that light brown lap top guitar of his.

A lucky few people got to sit in on this recording, and right up front, musta been nice

Also, you can clearly hear there is a dif in quality of both cd and dvd, dvd is way better, sorry Ben, I heard something about Ben used some funky old recorder to record the cd, and well, you can tell. DVD sound blows the cd away. I actually after many listens of both do not listen to the cd anymore. hey I tried fault me for a high end hifi? whatever

It seems like each and everyday Ben Harper's music continues to grow on me. I have known his music for a decade but didn't really become a fan until a couple of years ago. He is trully one of the most creative artists of his time. He can go from rock, soul, funk, R&B, gospal, and even bluegrass over a course of an album and it never sounds forced or chessy.
Lifeline is a fantastic album. "Into the Colors" is a great first single and the album is packed with great tracks throuhout. If you are a Ben Harper fan then you will not be disappointed with this purchase. This is one of the best albums in the music industry over the past few years.

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