Ben Harper - Give TillIt's Gone

Wed 20th Jul, 2011 in Music Reviews

Being perhaps one of the greatest songwriters of the last decade, Ben Harper has produced some simply amazing compositions and album releases. His work as a musician, environmentalist and human rights activist, has made him internationally adored and seems to have an immense following everywhere he travels. He has gone through many musical phases, and gone through multiple bands, with The Blind Boys of Alabama, Innocent Criminals and Relentless7 all adding to his repertoire and each were received to great success and acclaim. Harper’s latest release Give Till It’s Gone is a work titled under his name only, despite the credits suggesting Relentless7’s input on basically all tracks and their images printed within the booklets, a strange exclusion to be honest.

This album contains some work that Harper can be very proud of and is great to listen to, but as a whole Give Till It’s Gone is one of those albums that is definitely part of an artists catalogue, but isn’t really a standout. Sure, it is enjoyable and mostly a good listen, but doesn’t compare as much with his previous works, which in one perspective is a little disappointing.

There are some really cool tracks that have been included, with Dirty Little Lover packing a seriously grungy punch and shows a dirtier side to Harper’s sound, which is always nice, but its his acoustic, mellow tracks that have made him famous, and the inclusion of this style is vital for any Harper record. Feel Love encapsulates this very well, and gives a nostalgic vibe to his older work.

A standout for the album is the opening track Don’t Give Up On Me Now, which sees a warm and involving atmosphere open the recording quite perfectly, with the full band accompanying Harper.

Don’t get the impression that this is a bad album, because it most certainly is not. Just, with his track record, it is believed that Ben Harper could do a lot more with the talent he has and his previous work simply outshines what this album provides. It’s not necessarily the music itself, but the way Harper executes it, there just seems to be a lack of passion that he usually puts into his work. Hopefully, a follow up to Give Till It’s Gone will see Harper recover and create an even better release.