Ben Harper - Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival
Rating
RIYL
The Black KeysThe Cruel Sea
The Dead Weather
Blackwater Fever
Release Date
03/09/2010
Label
Virgin RecordsTracklist
1. Faster Slower Disappear Come Around2. Number With No Name
3. Shimmer & Shine
4. Lay There & Hate Me
5. Why Must You Always Dress In Black
6. Red House
7. Another Lonely Day
8. Keep It Together
9. Boots Like These
10. Under Pressure
11. Up To You Now
12. Faithfully Remain
13. Serve Your Soul
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The live album is one of those things in critical circles that always seems to divide the crowd - some love it for it’s honesty and musical integrity and some hate it because the album should be an advertisement of what the live show will deliver. I’m definitely a lover, especially in regards to Ben Harper. I grew up listening to his music, and either because of not being old enough or having enough cash, I was unable to go to any of his shows whenever he blessed these southern shores. Albums like Live From Mars by The Innocent Criminals, Living by John Butler and Hullaballoo by Muse got me as close to the action as I could hope to get, and Relentless7 Live is definitely one to throw in this mix.
White Lies for Dark Times, Relentless7’s debut, is actually the album that got me this here gig writing for Decoy, as I wrote a mock review just weeks after seeing their amazing performance at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival with fellow Decoy writer, Andrew Beam. So this live album is one of those musical experiences for me that isn’t just background music, but a fairly inspired listening experience to bring back what I regard as one of the best festivals, and one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. But I still can’t figure out where the fuck the other three unrelenting band members are…
Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival is a hell of a title to try and swallow, so I’ll just call it R7Live from here on in. The R7Live set opens with a track that must be purely a live jam. "Faster Slower Disappear Come Around" is belted out with the passion I’ve come to expect from Ben Harper. Even if you’re not usually a fan, you have to admit the man is one hell of a performer. White Lies favourites "Number With No Name" and "Shimmer & Shine" are screamed along with by the Montreal crowd before "Lay There & Hate Me" sees Harper advising the listener to, "Never trust a woman / never trust a woman / who loves the blues … you wrote me an 8 page letter / front and back / written in your favourite colours / blood and black," showing a darker poetry in his lyrics than the Innocent Criminals ever afforded.
"Another Lonely Day," one of the standout tracks from the Live From Mars acoustic disc also finds home in the R7Live set before "Boots Like These" sees Harper reveling in the joys being a world famous musician can offer. Paying homage to David Bowie and Queen towards the end of the set, just as the Innocent Criminals did for Marvin Gaye, Relentless7’s cover of "Under Pressure" complete with Harper’s cracking vocals shows their true appreciation of the music scene and it’s forebears.
Ben Harper is one of those musicians who simply delivers no matter the terrain. This might be a biased view and I might simply be incapable of saying a bad thing about someone whose music provides me with so many memories, but R7Live is to me another great live recording to add to an already impressive catalogue. If you feel live recordings don’t add anything to a band’s previous work, that’s fine, I just hope you’ve got a great memory and enough coin to fork out for a band every time they come to town.
--Sandy Powell
Comments
Minnesota
Ben Harper needs to go away... for good.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Sunshine Coast, Australia
Rick is there anything you actually do like? You and Bill just don't actually seem to enjoy music, lol
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Lehigh Valley, PA
WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!!!!!! I love music, just not what Rick likes. He listens to crappy nu-metal haha. Let this be known though... I love Ben Harper. This is a great live album. I've seen him live probably about 13 or 14 times, always great.
Minnesota
WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!!!!!! I love music, just not what Bill likes. He listens to crappy bro-core haha. Let this be known though... I loathe Ben Harper. Live albums are not great. I've seen him live once and was bored silly.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Lehigh Valley, PA
Let's hug it out.
Sunshine Coast, Australia
ah I love this game... oh and Bill if you're calling Karnivool crappy nu-metal shits gonna get real... haha
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Lehigh Valley, PA
You said it brother, not me. ;-)
Sunshine Coast, Australia
haha just running off your post on the review, but still... well played
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Somewhere in New York
Oh Sandy, always so protective of his Australian bretheren.
"If someone gives you a kazoo and toots around the house to MTV, they're not gonna fuck you." - David Cross
Sunshine Coast, Australia
except for Jet.
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Dubuque
Jet for Life.
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