Ben Harper
The Will to Live
Virgin
Release Date: 1997
Ben Harper's music conjurs up an almost religious fervor. His blues family reunion -- where rock, gospel and R&B meet their long-lost reggae cousins -- creates a revival-hall atmosphere that gives the emotional peaks on The Will to Live a supernatural quality that eludes the bulk of popular music.
But once Sunday services are over, Harper rolls around in the Delta mud with the best of them. He borrows as heavily from Robert Johnson as he does from Jimi Hendrix, but no matter how clearly you glimpse his musical family tree, Harper's songs always sound startlingly original.
The standout track this time out is "I Want To Be Ready," a redemption song that relies more on Harper's powerfully intimate voice than any instrumental pyrotechnics. Then there's "Homeless Child," a bluesy romp that sounds like it came straight off a front porch in Mississippi. And "Jah Work" is Harper's most direct nod to his affinity for reggae.
But The Will to Live is not the best introduction to Harper's vast talents. He's at his best when his songs are spare and sharply focused, like on Fight for Your Mind, his last endeavor. This release leans more toward the complicated, and that's where he loses his most potent gift: the ability to make a good song great by a perfectly chosen chord change or a single unexpected note.
-- Chris Schwartz
schwartz@outersound.com
