Reviews
Ben Harper and Blind Boys of Alabama
There Will Be a Light
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2004-11-17
Let me begin by stating a potential bias, Ben Harper is one of my top five bands/artists of all time. There was a period in time when he was competing for #1, but my like for Ben Harper took a bit of a hit after his last studio album release "Diamonds on the Inside". Now I don't want to harp on it, or get too much into that album as Dwayne intends to review the re-release of it at some point in the future. However, going into the aforementioned album Ben Harper had this remarkable streak of doubling his previous album's sales every time he released a new disc. I saw a documentary about him, and in it they attributed this to Ben's constant touring and positive word of mouth. It would then follow, that the latest album didn't get so much positive word of mouth. It's not bad, but in my opinion it is clearly the worst album he has released.
However, Ben Harper still had a strong enough reputation in my book that I purchased "There Will be A Light" when I saw it on the new releases without having a clue who the Blinds Boys of Alabama were and what to expect on the album. Well... the Blind Boys of Alabama are a group of blind gospel singing old men from Alabama, and Ben Harper collaborates with them on this album to produce an album that while being gospel in nature is really so much more than that. This is a truly inspired effort. Any doubt I had after Ben's release of "Diamonds on the Inside" was erased after this release. Its not even that it is his best record, it is just that you feel the energy and effort that the older Ben Harper albums have in this recording. But in the end, it is gospel. So anyone who likes Ben Harper should be forewarned, if you couldn't see yourself listening to gospel or if you are anti religious. You might want to steer clear. Luckily for me, I find the sound neat. Its cool having a gospel CD in my collection. Just like its cool to have Johnny Cash in my collection. Even if you need to be in a peculiar mood to throw it in.
"Wicked Man" is a sensational song. I've been debating using this reference, but it must be done. A lot of these songs have an appeal that is really hard to explain. I mean in current context you would call it gospel, but it isn't just any gospel. It is with very low voices, and in a really harmonic sort of way. If you have ever had the pleasure of hearing traditional and forgive me for saying this "slave music", then that is more accurate to the sound than gospel. And if you research the Blind Boys of Alabama, you will find that this is the sound they are known for. This track emphasizes the piano more than any instrument. It finds Ben Harper singing soulfully "The Wicked... the wicked... the wicked man shall fall" with the Blind Boys of Alabama in the background repeating ben Harper's lyrics in their deep pitched voices. The combination of the two styles, and the contrast in the voices makes for a truly unique sound.
Another beauty is "Well, Well, Well". None of these songs lyrically are overly complicated, and they are all 100 percent religious. I like the lyrics in this one though "Drill a hole in the ground, straight down to hell, till there ain't no more water in the well... well... well. When your down on your knees with nothing left to sell. Why don't you try digging a little deeper in the well... well... well." Tell me that isn't a fucking beauty of a lyric. Its even more powerful when you hear Ben Harper singing it over his signature twangy blues guitar, and with the Blind Boys of Alabama singing a powerful back up vocal track. This song has that classic Ben Harper appeal crossed with something from the soundtrack of "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". There is a guitar solo at the end of the song which lasts over a minute and just blows my mind everytime i hear it. A classic Ben Harper track.
As I review this album I find it hard to pick tracks to talk about, but a clear standout is "There will be a Light". This song is kinda a religious song that sounds like a love song. I guess well its a love song to god:) The neat thing about this song is that it emphasizes the Blind Boys of Alabama and not Ben Harper. Harper gets his vocal time, but the majority of this track goes with the Blind Boys. There is a Louis Armstrong-esque verse in here where whomever is singing's voice is completely gripping. It has a kinda choir like background (which is only used on this track before you start to hate) and its more or less drums and pianos. Its weird to hear a Ben Harper track without guitar. But its one of the best on the album.
The only real miss I can find on the album is "Church on time" which happens to be the last track. Which is a downer. Its almost like they just wanted to inspire people to go to church, and so they added this to the album. But its just the least inspirede song on the soundtrack. Ben Harper's voice annoys me a bit on this song, and the fact there is almost no other lyrics than what is in the title makes it a bit repetitive. Maybe I'm just picky, but this song just seems to be the bad apple out of the bunch.
But other than that the album is firing on all cylinders. I have to rank it right up there with the best of Ben Harper. Not quite "Fight For Your Mind", but not overly far from it either. Its almost like The Blind Boys of Alabama were able to re-inspire Ben Harper. I never respected a musician more than I did Ben Harper after seeing the documentary on him, and after that I just honestly believed he would never ever step backwards. That all his albums would be sensational, and he would never miss on a song. That was a bit much to expect, but this album has sparked a renassaince for Ben Harper on my stereo. I can't stop listening to his music. So if you are into Ben Harper, and also think you might be into some old style gospel with Ben Harper infused into it. Then get your hands on this album. The girl I bought it from said "its almost like you could put this on and listen to it rather than going to church." And at the time I chuckled, but I completely understand where she was coming from. You feel good after listening to this album even if you aren't religious at all.
Tracks you should download: "Take My Hand", "Wicked Man", "Church House Steps", "Well, well, well", "satisfied mind", "there will be a light".
Score: 8.5
It was hard deciding where to rate this, but because the style of music isn't something i can listen to all the time. I can't go much higher than this.
- Dan