New Ben Harper :D

smithnicsmithnic Posts: 1,563
edited January 2006 in Other Music
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/9051879?rnd=1136996975910&has-player=false

Ben Harper will release a two-CD set, Both Sides of the Gun, on March 21st. While Harper released a collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama in 2004, this eighteen-track collection, divided into nine songs per disc, is the follow-up to his last solo effort, 2003's world music-inspired Diamonds on the Inside.
At an hour long, the new material would easily fit on one CD. But Harper wanted to give each disc a distinct sound, one harder and one softer, as he just "wasn't able to find that magic balance."

Among the tracks on Both Sides' harder-edged half is the title track, which melds funk with a Seventies soul vibe, and the blues and funk-driven "Black Rain," a song in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In contrast, Both Sides' second half features the power ballad "Picture in a Frame," and the romantic closer "Happily Ever After in Your Eyes," a track Harper hopes will become "the ultimate wedding song." (Harper and longtime girlfriend actress Laura Dern actually chose holiday tracks for their recent wedding ceremony this December 23rd in Los Angeles.)

While the California singer-songwriter turned to his usual backing band and a number of L.A. "jazz-heads" for recording, he self-produced the album and, on several tracks, played all the instruments. Harper says of his very hands-on effort, "I feel confident there's not an ounce of filler."

With tour plans in support of Both Sides in the works for either February or March -- and a co-headlining slot for the Langerado Music Festival in Sunrise, Florida, on March 11th -- Harper finds himself itching to get out on the road. "I'm jumping out of my skin. I can hardly sit still. I just can't wait to get it out and play it."
Go Get 'Em Tigers!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    dude, i used to have a HUGE crush on laura der as a kid... that lucky bastard! this might send me back onto the ben harper train, sounds like an interesting album.
  • rhinomagicrhinomagic Charlottesville, VA Posts: 2,552
    Great news! Thanks for the article.

    I'm planning on going to the Langerado Festival, so maybe I'll get to hear some of the new stuff before the album is released.
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  • sadprofessorsadprofessor Posts: 1,034
    I'm going to see Ben (and a shitload of other great bands) at Langerado too... I hope the new record is better than Diamonds on the Inside, I was not a huge fan of that one.
    The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
  • Awesome! THink he could open for Pearl Jam??
    He is alive but feels absolutely nothing.
    So is he?
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    By nine he had deciphered the illusion trading magic for fact.
    No tradebacks...
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  • sadprofessorsadprofessor Posts: 1,034
    Awesome! THink he could open for Pearl Jam??

    He did open for them about 10 years ago, but I think at this point he is probably a bit too much of a draw on his own to open for PJ.
    The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
  • THE LOOKTHE LOOK Posts: 324
    I saw Ben open for PJ back in 96. I have been a huge fan every since.
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  • anyone have any bh boots they can share...i've seen him a couple times...my favorite being at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival...anyone have that one on boot? will trade....PM if interested...
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  • smithnic wrote:
    http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/9051879?rnd=1136996975910&has-player=false


    Among the tracks on Both Sides' harder-edged half is the title track, which melds funk with a Seventies soul vibe, and the blues and funk-driven "Black Rain," a song in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In contrast, Both Sides' second half features the power ballad "Picture in a Frame," and the romantic closer "Happily Ever After in Your Eyes," a track Harper hopes will become "the ultimate wedding song." (Harper and longtime girlfriend actress Laura Dern actually chose holiday tracks for their recent wedding ceremony this December 23rd in Los Angeles.)

    I just can't wait to get it out and play it."

    I had Not Fire Not Ice as my wedding song, so I'm interested in seeing if this new one can top that.
  • LedZepFanLedZepFan Posts: 1,009
    thats pretty cool, ill definately check this out

    a very cool album title as well
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  • CM1847CM1847 Posts: 577
    I'm not a big fan of the soft/rocking two disc album thing after In Your Honor, but I'll trust Ben Harper to do it better than the Foos.
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