Customer Reviews

White Lies for Dark Times

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I became a Ben Harper fan with Fight for Your Mind. I liked the Live From Mars 2-CD release, one of which was acoustic, while the other was electric. When he goes electric, Harper rocks. Unfortunately, the last few CDs I've passed on, as they sound like Ben Harper on valium. I can only take so much soft, gentle music. He lost me at Diamonds on the Inside.

With this release, Ben Harper seems to have dumped the valium, so to speak, and comes blasting back to life. Every song blasts from the speakers! BEN ROCKS! Even the few relatively slow songs have a power to them that has been lacking.

Right now, this is available as a download for $3.99. I'd previewed it before today and was going to download it, no matter what the cost. At $3.99, it's a bargain.

New life and energy has been breathed into Ben Harper. Whoeveer the Relentless7 are, they kick Ben into high gear! This is the best Harper CD since Fight for Your Mind. Get it, get it, get it!

Ben Harper teams up with a Texas trio known by the somewhat confusing name of 'Relentless7' - but anyway, even if they can't count, they sure know how to rock. Most of the songs are blues-rockers, whereby you get a generous helping of fuzzed-up electric slide and a good dose of wah wah enhanced electric lead - and the music is all held together by a tight and funky rhythm section. However, the album isn't all ballsy blues and frenzied funk - with a few numbers, BH slows down the tempo to give the listener a sprinkling of his more familiar neo-roots music. Most of the songs have pretty good lyrics too.

Those tunes that really do the business for me are : 'Number With No Name', 'Shimmer & Shine', 'Lay There and Hate Me', 'Why Must You Always Dress In Black', 'Skin Thin' and 'Keep It Together'; the rest aren't bad either, with just a couple that don't quite 'get there' for me.

I didn't think they made music like this anymore (the major influences are obvious - Jimi Hendrix, Cream and The Rolling Stones). Anyone who likes their music with a lot of balls should enjoy this album, with its super-charged playing and BH's soulful vocals (as another reviewer mentions, occasionally sounding a little like Stevie Wonder). Also, if you're 'getting on a bit' (like me) and hanker for that pre-arena, classic psych-tinged blues-rock sound from yesteryear, then you might want to lend an ear to this album - it's a frightfully decent record.

I'm a big fan of Ben Harper, especially his live albums. This is his best studio effort to date, that's good considering he's been recording for 15 years. This is a great straight up rock record, it really has the energy of his live shows. The new band has helped Harper re-invent himself with a more rock-blues sound.

White Lies For Dark Times marks change in direction for Ben Harper. Gone are The Innocent Criminals with Relentless7 in their place. The changes that result from this are great, but that is by no means a knock on The Innocent Criminals (see my review of Lifeline for further discussion). However, Ben Harper is a versatile musician, and he has shown that he can deliver in multiple styles with White Lies For Dark Times being the most recent evidence.

Relentless7 is a three piece backing for Harper, and their sound has a much more electric emphasis than Lifeline. White Lies For Dark Times also has a darker sound, and Harper is nowhere near as upbeat. Harper's lyrics carry a sense of desperation and angst as shown by "There's nowhere to run/I've got no one to tell/My face has become a mask/And I'm not wearing it well" from "Number With No Name" or "Arms that hold you close/Are the arms that hold you back/While your world is under attack" from "Up To You Now". Other examples come from "Lay There & Hate Me" "I feel like an underpaid concubine/Who's overstayed her welcome" and "The Word Suicide" "The word suicide is irresponsible/Still you offer me a gun". It is clear that Harper is expressing a harsher reality than he did on Lifeline.

The change in lyrics is balanced with the change in sound from Relentless7. Jason Mozersky is a very good guitarist, and his use of distortion, fuzz, and "wah wah" pedals gives the instrumentation an edge that matches the lyrics of the songs. Harper's vocal delivery is also different. The first time I listened to the CD, the third verse of "Up To You Now" stuck with me as all the instruments are silent while he earnestly delivers the following lines in his upper register "There's no sound louder than war/And we don't have tomorrow any more". This has a striking effect because the technique is not overused. "Shimmer & Shine" is one of the faster paced songs, and it almost has a punk feel to it (but it's not quite *that* fast). It's about as upbeat as this CD gets, but things come back down quickly on "Lay There & Hate Me". It is a deliberate mix of R&B and rock, and Harper seems to have a lot of venom in his delivery. One other song worth specific mention is "Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)" is a nod to the sound of Jimmie Hendrix without being a cliche. Mozersky does a great job of conjuring up the image without coming off as a wannabe - no easy feat! Jesse Ingalls on bass and Jordan Richardson on drums provide a steady foundation for all of the songs.

Overall, White Lies For Dark Times is a bold change in direction for Ben Harper, but it would be hard to imagine a better result. The most important thing that it shares with Lifeline is that there is not a bad song on the entire CD. If you are hoping for the logical successor to Lifeline, you are likely to be disappointed. However, I would encourage all Ben Harper fans to give this a try because it is great stuff!

Download this: Shimmer & Shine

I'd never heard of Ben Harper before despite having a huge blues / rock collection of CDs. It was getting pretty tough finding anything new to add to the stack - seems like most of the old big names have been putting out apathetic, same o, same o stuff or releasing ancient relics that one tires of after a few spins. Just listening to the sound bites sold me on this disc. The artist is original, creative and powerful. At last something that is refreshingly new to enjoy and absorb. Way to go Ben - keep up the great work!

I pre-ordered this album off of Ben's website in order to get a bonus Live EP, which was worth the extra $$. As soon as I saw that this came out yesterday on Amazon at $3.99, I quickly told all of my friends to get it before the deal runs out. Even so, it is worth every penny you'll end up spending on it! For Ben fans, it is a no-brainer and a must-have. For those not familiar with Ben Harper, he is an amazing musician - both recorded and performing live (a true test of a musician). I love it when artists re-invent themselves, which Ben has done here by playing with new musicians aside from The Innocent Criminals (also incredible musicians). So I was excited when I saw this coming out, and rushed to pre-order it. It came a day early on Monday, and I haven't stopped listening to it since - on my iPod on my commute and at work, in the car, on my computer at home. This album flat out ROCKS! Kudos to Ben for trying something different, mixing it up, and hitting it out of the park! I'll be listening to this album for the foreseeable future, and can't see myself getting tired of it anytime soon.

The last we saw from Ben Harper was the 2007 "Lifeline" album with his Innocent Criminals band. That album was as introspective and acoustic as anything Ben Harper had ever done. With that bug seemingly now out of his system, Ben decided the moment was right to take time-out from the Innocents Criminals and instead he assembled a new band simply called Relentless7.

The moment that the new album "White Lies for Dark Times" (11 tracks; 47 min.) opens with "Number With No Name", you know this is going to be a very different affair from "Lifeline". Indeed the sound is heavy, even bluesey. Comparisons with the Cream immediately came to mind, check out "Up To You Know", but also Jimi Hendrix. "Shimmer & Shine" is an up-tempo rocker. The first half of the album closes with two other hard-charging tunes: "Lay There & Hate Me" (with the line "Never trust a woman/Who loves the blues", ha!) and "Why Must You Always Dress In Black". Wow, talk about a fantastic first half. "Skin Thin" kicks off the second half of the album in a decidely more relaxed fashion. In fact, there is only one more heavy track, namely "Keep it Together". The closer "Faithfully Remain" is a great way to round out this collection.

As much as I liked "Lifeline" for what that was, I really really like this album. I think Ben Harper benefitted tremendously from assembling a new backing band, as it seems to have energized him. Ben's songwriting has never been better in my opinion. I've seen Ben on tour with the Criminal Innocents, and can't wait to see him at some point on stage with Relentless7.

Ben Harper returns with another helping of his down-home roots rock and a voice that truly knows how to wrench emotion out of the lyrics. Not to mention some excellent guitar skills. Starting off the album with a funky track, "Number With No Name", the album progress nicely, ending on two powerful slower tempo songs. My favorite, so far, "The Word Suicide" with the quote "Love is a lonely road" (indeed). Great job!
I really like this album, and I hope Ben and the Relentless 7 make it to Austin.

Ben Harper with Relentless 7 is my favorite band that has played with Ben. This is an outstanding LP. The pressing is done with care and quality.

This album stands out as some of my favorite songs by Ben Harper. The album has been in heavy rotation on my play list for some time now. This is one of those releases that just sounds so much better on vinyl (180gram) and cries out for the large gatefold format. I saw Ben at Lollapalooza in 2009 playing with Relentless 7. Ben is one of the rare artists that sounds great live and recorded.

Ben's voice has an incredible energy and emotion. His music has blues roots, but is straight up excellent rock. The tracks on this album are somewhat varied, from more simple tunes to some dark complex music. Shimmer and Shine is a nice tune with an easy to remember hook. Lay There and Hate Me, dark blues where his girl friend has decided she hates him more than anything.

Ben Harper has a unique style and sound. There are hints of other singers in his voice and music. Lenny Kravitz comes to mind, especially on Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart). Where Lenny plays to a mass audience, more popular music; Harper follows his muse and creates more complex music. There's a little bit of Little Feat in a few songs. The last two songs, The Word Suicide and Faithfully Remain are gorgeous slow ballads. The range on this album is fantastic.

Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 performed at the 2009 Montreal Jazz Festival, the recording is available on CD and DVD: Live From the Montreal International Jazz Festival (CD/DVD). The performance is excellent; the set list is pretty close to this album.

Harper plays an incredible guitar and slide guitar. His Live on Letterman show was simply amazing. He played with Pearl Jam during the 2009 Austin City Limits festival. Harper has the similar social beliefs as Eddie Vedder. They both care about the oppressed.

I like this album better than his most recent, Give Until its Gone (Give Till It's Gone). I have the newer release on vinyl also (not nearly as good a pressing, single album). If you had to purchase only one Ben Harper album on vinyl, this would be the one.

The vinyl issue of this album is superb. There are no defects in the copy I purchased.

Ben Harper put this album together with 3 new musicians, and the 4 of them are ben harper and the relentless 7. Each of them is a great rock musician, and the riffs and rhythms are excellent. But the songs are a bit boring as compositions. What we are hearing is a great live band (which has a must buy life album (the montreux jazz festival concert) playing in the studio. For the ben harper die hards, this album is ok to buy, for others I recommend to buy the live concert which is more interesting, including queen and hendrix covers.