Burn to Shine
Ben Harper's musical eclecticism has been well established, but what often goes unnoticed is that few musicians possess such an expansive emotional range. And those complex, unsettled emotions never seem to come one at a time; instead, they are layers to be peeled and reassembled. When the mood is ominous, you still sense an urgent hopefulness around the bend, and even on a jaunty Dixieland number like "Suzie Blue," with its playful trombone and clarinet, you can see the clouds on the horizon. The tension may not always be overt, but it's never lower than just below the surface. Angry, aggressive metal rants; bruising, bombastic, operatic rockers; lighthearted Caribbean grooves; strutting Southern boogie; deep country soul; and delicate acoustic folk play out like scenes within a Byzantine film. Harper's soulful moans, agonized groans, and earth-shaking whispers narrate this battle between shadows and light, and his sonic war zone is as dynamic, detailed, and diverse as it's ever been. As weighty as but more personal than its three predecessors,Burn to Shinehas the sensation of grandeur that seems to accompany all of Harper's work, but it's more than a delusion.--Marc Greilsamer