Ben Harper - Lifeline

Ben Harper has regularly released albums since 1994 Lifeline is his latest. Coming in at just over 40 minutes it's a concise effort. However it never sounds rushed.

His best work tends towards a sultry soulfulness and this is no exception.

Recorded right after his last tour ended the songs have a warmth that come both from his band, The Innocent Criminals, being so tight, and recording to analog tape.

The songs are terrific, but more than that the entire project has a feel. It's comfortable, like an old pair of jeans but continually surprises with musical flourishes.

Guitar riffs, organ grooves and Ben Harper's incredibly pleasing voice are amongst trademark sounds that embellish song after song and give them life.

"In The Colors" and the title track are a couple of the highlights. The penultimate track "Paris Sunrise #7" is an instrumental and rocks with a harder bite than the rest of the album.

The people who influenced Ben Harper shine through his songs sometimes. Listen close and a couple of the songs will recall Marvin Gaye. Still another brings to mind Terence Trent D'Arby. Through it all though, the music is uniquely Ben Harper

Next Sunday morning, brew a pot of coffee, cook some eggs and have some friends over for Brunch. Crank up "Lifeline" while you're at it, everyone will be glad you did.

Raul Midon - A World Within A World

A couple of years ago I first saw Raul Midon when he was on Letterman. I had no idea who he was. But that night he exploded out of my TV. The musicianship on display that evening more than impressed. I bought his CD "State of Mind" the next day. State of Mind was terrific, what a powerful first impression. Sometimes though first impressions leave such an indelible mark that anything subsequent has a hard time living up to the standard they set.

Raul Midon's new release not only lives up to the expectations and promises setup by his last album, it surpasses them.

A World Within A World is jazzier, funkier, smoother and more soulful than it's predecessor. It's also a bit more polished in a manner that causes it to feel more fully fleshed out.

His guitar playing is in a word, stellar. A handful of people can consistently delight the senses with an acoustic guitar the way Raul does. On a couple of tunes his playing puts one in a mind of Django Reinhardt.

The playing and singing is enchanting. You want to become hypnotized by it's charm and drift off into space. However the intricacy of the playing and the songs demand attention. What at first might seem simple unwinds and reveals itself more and more with repeated listening.

"A World Within a World." makes good on the promise of "State of Mind," perhaps tenfold.  One can only hope that he continues down this path and creates wonderful music we can enjoy for many years to come.

Into The Wild

The soundtrack to the Sean Penn film Into the Wild acts equally well as Eddie Vedder's solo debut. Most of it veers towards the softer acoustic sounds we have become accustomed to in a portion of Pearl Jams work. There is something inherently powerful about the strength of Vedder's voice against a minimal musical backdrop.

"Hard Sun" is one of the most fully fleshed out songs on the disc. It's an obscure cover from a 1989 album by the group Indio. On it Vedder wails a bit more forcefully than on most of the other tracks.

Unlike most Pearl Jam albums the accompanying booklet has lyrics printed that are easy to read. It's kind of ironic since Eddie's words are fairly easy to understand on this one.

A very enjoyable listen and a no-brainer for Pearl Jam fans as well as those who specifically appreciate the softer side they sometimes offer.

It strikes me that this will be a good one to press play on, late at night, right before bed.

Bruce Springsteen - Magic....Live

Bruce Springsteen's new album is entitled "Magic." Quite fitting for an artist whose live shows have been often been described by that very word. A week into his tour I've seen 4 shows.

They've been different of course, that's a huge part of his appeal. Every night he changes it up. But there is also a common thread to the tour so far, held together by the new music.

The songs on Magicsound very good on CD. Live they breathe. On opening night in Hartford I was amazed at how much a couple of the songs were already changed from their studio versions.

"Gypsy Biker" which I had envisioned to be performed acoustically is invigorated with sizzling guitar work from Bruce and especially Little Steven. Free of the time commitment to the Sopranos Steven seems to have refocused his energy on playing guitar.

The title track as Bruce explained is not about magic per se but about tricks. The way truths are turned in to lies and lies into truths by the government. With his wife on a beautiful backing vocal this has been one of the quieter and prettier moments of the evening amongst the songs that appear that they'll be stalwarts of the set.

Amongst other strengths he has an ability to pair his new material with older songs that help strengthen the musical and lyrical narrative of what he is trying to say on stage each night and each tour. On this tour "The Rising" has been paired with "Last to Die" a song that quite simply asks who will be the last to die for a mistake. The transition from one to the other is done as more of a segue. It's the sort of thing you'd expect a jam-band to do more so, but it works beautifully.

Another strength is his ability to read an audience and sense what they want or need on a given night. There have already been numerous spots in the 4 shows I've seen where he clearly called an audible and strayed from the written set-list.  This practice tends to happen more as a tour progresses and increases dramatically when Bruce plays a multi-night stand in a city.

The 2nd night at the Meadowlands he pulled the song "Cynthia" seemingly out of nowhere. An album outtake that had been released in 1998 on his box set of outtakes it had been played live by the E Street Band exactly once. The crowd ate it up and went nuts.

Five shows into a new tour Bruce & The E Street Band are already firing on all cylinders. There's a lot to be said for people who have played together a long time and can sense the others next move. That's how it is with this group. No surprise they're often referred to as "The Human Jukebox." Bruce yells them out and counts them off and the band follows Max's beat and more often than not nails the song, whatever it is, cold.

There will be plenty of time to see this tour as it's expected to last well into 2008. Do yourself a favor and go to a  couple of shows it'll help you really understand what a Springsteen tour is all about.

Melissa Etheridge - The Awakening

In the liner notes to her new album The AwakeningMelissa Etheridge asks listeners to set aside an hour and play the CD straight through. This is sound advice. More than her previous albums the songs on this one flow together cohesively. She herself has called it a concept record. The subject matter is her life viewed through the prism of recovering from Cancer.

While that might sound a bit maudlin the music is anything but. It swings and it rocks, most often simmering just below a rolling boil.

If you're already a fan this is a fine addition to the Etheridge catalog. If you're new to her music "The Awakening" does a good job touching the various styles of music she has played over the years. Bluesy guitar, gritty vocals and heartfelt lyrics all delivered passionately are on display.

Most importantly for an artist such as Melissa Etheridge many of the new songs seem well suited for her live show. And that's perfectly appropriate as she's a live performer before anything else.

Van Halen

Is it possible to live up to 21+ years of Anticipation? That's how long I waited to see Van Halen. Truth is after the 1996 "reunion" fiasco I'd all but given up the ghost.

Last week I traveled to Philadelphia to see Van Halen, Finally.

I didn't spend too much time dwelling on it the last 2 months since I'd acquired tickets lest it get even more built up in my head.

At 8:27 PM they hit the stage and when I say hit it I mean that. They landed with a ferocious roar that did not let up for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Beg, borrow, lie, steal, cheat, do whatever you have to do, but see this band. I have bootlegs documenting Van Halen from 1976 (before they had a record deal) to 1984 when they last toured. And I am here to tell you I absolutely guarantee this band NEVER sounded better.

I had my reservations about Michael Anthony not being involved as his vocals were important to the VH sound. No disrespect to Michael Anthony but this is the last time I need to mention his name. The kid, the little Van Halen Wolfie, handled both bass duties AND vocals admirably. It was his 3rd nite in front of 20,000 people and he might have been a touch nervous but not so much that it impacted his performance. He was GREAT. A Van Halen he is in more than name now.

Eddie was well Eddie.He displayed why his name HAS to be mentioned when the conversation turns to the greatest guitarists ever. I'm not here to tell you he's number one, but maybe he is. I AM here to tell you that NO ONE is better. Equal? Maybe I don't know. Better? Nope, sorry.

Alex played his ass off and even had a pretty cool drum solo. He has his own sound and his chops were all on display.

Dave, Dave, Dave. Is he the greatest front man in rock history? Again, he HAS to be in the conversation. No two ways about it. His voice sounded fantastic, then again I've seen the man live well over a dozen times and his voice always sounds good.

And together? Not only did Van Halen prove that they could stop on a dime, I'm fairly certain they could pick it up too.

Or as my buddy Jon who went with me put it in regards to their sound, "They were tighter than a Ducks Asshole."

I have no idea how this infamously volatile band is getting along, but they sure looked like they were having fun. There were clearly vested in what they were doing and seemingly having a ball doing it. If they weren't, well then the Oscar goes to them for a primo performance.

The set list? to die for. The crowd was going bonkers and they would barely stop to accept applause before hitting you right between the eyes with another classic song.

My only gripe about the show? It ended. For over 2 hours I was in a rock and roll nirvana that only a handful of acts can deliver me to.

If you ever liked this band or of you just want to see a band at the top of their form, do what you have to, See Van Halen....