SMV - Burn To Shine
Ben Harper's Best Album?
Sunday Morning Vinyl time. Revisiting the past with Ben Harper’s most excellent fourth album. Spring forward today with a wonderful collection of songs that need to be played and heard.
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS
Burn To Shine (Virgin, 1999)
Ben Harper isn’t afraid to wear his musical eclecticism on his sleeve. If Lenny Kravitz has effectively mugged Hendrix and Sly, then Mr. Harper has effectively raided Taj Mahal’s rich Americana library. This isn’t to suggest that his fourth disc, Burn to Shine, is a lame or derivative record, but rather to suggest that Harper is not content to rely on one musical style throughout. Whereas Taj continues to explore different styles from album to album, Harper explores multiple styles on one disc. Whether he’s throwing himself in the middle of a 1920s-style jazz number with “Suzie Blue” or a simple, moody rock number like the opening track “Alone,” he’s laying bare textures that have defined music in America for most of a century now.
Having said that, “Burn To Shine,” the first single, is clearly the easiest for most listeners to latch onto, a chugging rocker with straight-ahead drumming and lyrics and a tasty Harper slide guitar solo. Its simplicity makes it effective and should be gobbled up by radio programmers and consumers alike. Moreover, the gospel-tinged, organ-fueled “Show Me A Little Shame” sounds like the vintage blues-rock styling of Taj, but again, that’s not saying Harper is a plagiarist. He’s only plumbing the mines of Americana, which is exactly what Taj did back in the ‘60s.
One would find it difficult to ignore the personal touches Harper has added to his music lesson here. And it doesn’t let up from beginning to end. The acoustic-driven “In The Lord’s Arms” closes the disc, and it’s one of the more soulful and emotive readings presented. David Lindley, guesting on banjo, mandolin, and fiddle, enhances the rustic vibe. But in all fairness, though some might dismiss this sonic stew as indulgent, Ben Harper has crafted his most effective effort to date. And one that deserves repeated listening. In a world of disposable pop fodder, that’s saying plenty.