BEN HARPER - Lifeline

Once upon a time there was Ben Harper.

The one from “Welcome To The Cruel World” and “Fight For Your Mind”, the one with his fist raised in the middle of a dirt road or with the weissenborn across his knees on stage, the one of the protest and the anger of “Oppression” and “Excuse Me Mr.”, but also of the touching ballads “Forever” and “Another Lonely Day”. That Ben Harper who ranged across black music and white folk-rock, who blended and renewed genres, able to fuse gospel, blues and soul in a fresh, original way, the one who showed so much promise.

Now, eight studio albums in, precious little remains of what Ben Harper was (and what he promised to be).

It's very hard to find, in this “Lifeline”, his third effort with the Innocent Criminals, the spark that marked his first two albums, or at least that There Will Be A Light recorded with the Blind Boys Of Alabama; standing out in a positive way are the r'n'b-soaked rock of "Say You Will" (perhaps the best track of the bunch), the instrumental weissenborn piece "Paris Sunset # 7", and the rock of "Put It On Me", which recalls early-era Springsteen.

Also worth saving are the soul-rock ballad "Needed You Tonight", as powerful as it is seductive, and the melancholy title track, tinted with weightless acoustic-guitar and slide plucking, but that's where "Lifeline" ends. Because the rest is made up of tired, overused ballads, somewhat country-rock ("Fool For A Lonesome Train"), often rehashes of an Harper-style we've already heard many times over ("In The Colours", "Fight Outta You"), or hopelessly bland ("Having Wings") and dull ("Younger Than Today").

The problem is that the Californian singer-songwriter is no longer able to write songs like "Like A King" or "I'll Rise", nor can he infuse his ballads with the same intensity that once ran through "Waiting On An Angel" or "Walk Away".

The new Ben Harper is laid-back, the one who goes surfing with Jack Johnson: no more dusty roads, no more mothers with lesbian lovers, less power to the gospel and fewer miles left to walk before he burns out again. Of the fire that once burned with rage inside the Californian, perhaps all that's left is the one gathered around in a circle on the beach with a guitar and friends; fine for inner peace, sure, but the old inspiration is gone.

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02/08/2007