Harper Creates a Tasty Concoction

Here's an album that goes down smooth.

A shot of vodka for the intense tracks, a bit of honey for the sweet love songs, a touch of mint for the refreshing, up-tempo tunes, and lots of lime for the sour heart-smashing breakup songs. It’s the metaphoric beverage that Ben Harper concocted in the Hemingway Bar of the Ritz-Carlton in Paris while recording his new album Lifeline, creating a delicious drink called a “Sunrise #7”, a name shared with the instrumental track that is part of the powerful duo that creates the albums grand finale.

Lifeline was created while Harper and his band, the Innocent Criminals, were on tour in Europe. Songs were written on the tour bus, practiced during sound check, and recorded in a week’s time onto an analog 16-track recorder. While his previous release, Both Sides of the Gun, served to alert listeners of war and racism, Harper avoids politics almost entirely on Lifeline. Songs revolve almost exclusively around lust, love, and- more than anything- heartbreak. The album’s first single, “In the Colors,” is a funky tune that stands out on the album. It’s a pleasure to the senses musically, designed to showcase the band’s talents more than Harper’s vocal power. “Put it on Me” and “Say You Will” are similar in style, providing the perfect forum for the sweet, positive love songs which Harper plays like no other.

“Needed You Tonight” is the opposite of “Colors”, a song which features Harper’s vocal power over the talents of his band. “I’d rather learn to live with you and suffer/ Than to see you in the arms of another,” Harper sings in a desperate attempt for returned affection with no reciprocation. The variation in volume adds enough to put the song above most others on the album. “Fool For a Lonesome Train” is similar stylistically, focusing on Harper’s intoxicating vocals. Unlike “Colors” “Heart of Matters” focuses on holding onto a shaky relationship while “Younger Than Today” speaks of what might follow- a breakup and the need to get past an old lover.

All of this leads up to the grand finale: a two-track finish which comprises some of the best work Harper has ever released. “Paris Sunrise #7,” a strictly instrumental tune similar to “Sweet Nothing Serenade” from B.S.O.G., sounds as if Harper sat on a stool with his slide guitar, pressed record on the analog recorder, and let the notes flow straight from his soul. It rolls into the powerful title track that tells the story of a lover being strung along. “It’s hardest to listen to what we already should know” Harper sings, encompassing the feeling of a love so blind that you can’t move on, even though everyone around you is telling you it’s time. Seeing the two songs performed live borders on a spiritual experience.

Lifeline proves to be better than Both Sides of the Gun, but still can’t reach the level of Diamonds on the Inside. In a sense, Harper has come full circle, with his eighth studio album almost mirroring one of his first, Welcome to the Cruel World. It’s a nice mix of slow, soulful songs and upbeat fun tracks, all crescendoing to a finish as smooth as a Sunrise #7.