If you've been to any music festival in recent history, there's a good chance you've had your chance to see Ben Harper live. Actually if you've been around anywhere anytime, there's a good chance Ben Harper and some semblance of his bands have played there live. Ben Harper's newest collection, if I may, is called the Relentless7 and includes Texas-based musicians Jason Mozersky (guitar), Jesse Ingalls (bass) , and Jordan Richardson (drums). Their first album White Lies for Dark Times is similar to many of Harper's previous albums -- it's good but fails to deliver the energy and passion Harper captured in 1995's Fight For Your Mind.
I feel the same way about the handful of times I've happened upon Ben live -- headliner, festival, opener or otherwise; his songs and personality are so full of passion but a lot of it gets lost in translation because he is usually sitting while playing slide guitar and seems to lack the cohesiveness with his fellow musicians, possibly because of the shuffling lineup. The truth is, I like Ben Harper, I always have, but this year at Lolla, like with most of my Ben encounters, I'll probably check out the other option, Animal Collective and stake out my spot for Tool.
Ben Harper and the Relentless7 on MySpace
The Official Site of Ben Harper
Friday, July 24, 2009
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I don't understand why they're called the Relentless7 when you can only find pictures of three of them and only regularly name what I can only assume is the pictured three. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just a wild 'n wacky name... Kinda like Ben Folds Five
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