Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ben Harper rocks hard again!, May 5, 2009
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!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rock 'n' Roots - with added funk; play loud!, May 8, 2009
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best rock album in awhile, May 7, 2009
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.
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