Perth Music

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals – Lifeline

It is obvious that Ben Harper is proud to be the soulful, roots based and no nonsense artist that he is and the liner notes on Lifeline prove this.  It reads “The record, Lifeline, was recorded and mixed in 7 days on a 16-track analog tape machine.  No computers or pro-tools were used anywhere in the process”.  It goes to show in an age of computers and electro-pop music, that simple musical talent can go a long way.  Another thing that this helps, especially with the amount of touring that Harper does, is that seeing him live is not a disappointment compared to listening to the album.

The album is not a party album or an album to dance to but is perfectly suited to a Sunday afternoon just lounging around or background music for eating dinner or spending time with that special someone.  With this in mind, there aren’t any stand out tracks or obvious singles but best to listen to as an album as a whole.  This could be the reason why Harper has had much more success in Europe than in his home country, the US.  Without stereotyping them too much, all Americans like throwaway pop music and nothing else.

Ben Harper has the respect of his peers and the public and the guitar work and vocals on Lifeline only strengthen these accolades.  The Innocent Criminals must also get credit where credit is due.  They do not get the recognition or faces on posters but most of the songs on Lifeline show the close relationship all musicians in a band must have.  So if you haven’t heard of them before, Oliver Charles, Leon Mobley, Juan Nelson, Michael Ward and Jason Yates should be congratulated as much as Ben Harper on a superb acoustic album.  8 out of 10.

Bob Sinclair – Soundz Of Freedom

I must admit that the only thing I really knew about Bob Sinclair before listening to this album was that he sang that Love Generation song from a couple of years ago that was on the radio every 30 minutes and pronounced as the song the summer.  After listening to Soundz Of Freedom I came to the conclusion that Sinclair may have peaked with Love Generation.  In saying that Bob Sinclair is definitely the best French, house, dance DJ that I know.

This is a remix album much in the same vein as Ministry Of Sound albums where each song blends into the next and is perfect for those Saturday nights where you just need a beat going on and on and don’t want it to stop for 80 minutes.  One can just imagine a bunch of teenage girls listening to this album in the back of a limousine going to their school ball paying a friend to buy alcohol for them. Considering that Sinclair is 40 years old, it is quite an achievement to still be able to relate to the younger generation.

There is only so much an artist can do when sampling songs, or what Bob Sinclair calls it; ‘extrapolations’.  And when the only photo in the CD sleeve is Sinclair wearing a dinner jacket with no shirt there is only one assumption you can make….he’s French. 4 out of 10.

Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge

Richard Hawley is an English singer/songwriter who has had a tough life and has the tortured lyrics to prove it.  He toured with Brit-band Pulp in the late 90’s which actually helped him clean up his act after getting addicted to the drink and drugs.  He then started a successful solo career leading to Lady’s Bridge, which is his 5th studio album to date.  Hawley is highly respected by fellow musicians and has contributed to a variety of albums and tours including Nancy Sinatra, R.E.M, All Saints and Gwen Stefani.

First single, Tonight The Streets are Ours, reached number 40 on the UK charts and is definitely the stand out track of the album.  That being said, almost any song would have fit perfectly on the Trainspotting soundtrack and every song is unmistakably English.  For an Australian audience this isn’t always a good thing but if you are in the mood to just let the music flow and rather feel it then hear it, this album is perfect.  6 out of 10.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 12:11 pm and is filed under CD Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.