Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Lifeline

By Brian Baker

Ben Harper was an impressive figure in the mid-’90s music scene with his quirky folk/blues/rock style presented on his exotic Weissenborn guitar. With an almost unnerving combination of visceral energy and quiet composure, Harper established himself as a singular musical talent with his early albums while building rising levels of rock and soul into his subsequent releases. With last year’s Both Sides of the Gun, Harper and his band, the Innocent Criminals, split their musical persona into two distinct discs, one a blistering rock explosion, the other an introspective prayer. For his eighth studio outing, Harper steps away from his rock stance and takes the Criminals on a soulful journey that hearkens back to the intimacy of his earlier albums. Recorded in just seven days in a Paris studio following a grueling nine month tour, Lifeline finds Harper and the IC quelling their road jitters with a smooth, smoky set of songs that channels his clear affinity for folk, soul and gospel.

Harper and the IC work a Bob Dylan vibe on “Fight Outta You,” reconfigure the Irish soul of Van Morrison on “In the Colors” and knit together the shivering soul/blues nova of Otis Redding and the British soul/folk alchemy of Paul Weller on “Needed You Tonight.” And for a taste of Harper’s exquisite fingerpicking technique, there’s the evocative instrumental acoustic hush of “Paris Sunrise #7,” nodding toward the brilliance of John Fahey and his many gifted students. With Lifeline, Harper has once again shown that regardless of the musical face he chooses to exhibit, his technical mastery and beautiful soul transcend genres, moving his work into the realm of pure classicism.