The Will To Live
Artist: Ben Harper
Label: Virgin Records
His face greets you on the cover in black and white, looking like
the Son of Hendrix with his afro, gotee, and fully African features.
You just know there's some groovy tunes to be found within. It's
Ben Harper's latest album, and it's more infused with pure soul and spiritual
zeal than most
"Christian" albums put out in the last year, even though the man
himself may fall a little outside the camp.
My interest in Ben was peaked by an interview in _Surfing_, in which
he talks about surfing as a "Godly" sport because of its connection with
creation (I've always thought so), and gives the nebulous line "Jah work
is never done" in reference to the Rasta Lion of Judah ring the interviewer
sees him wearing. Definitely a long shot from faith in Christ, but
from that and other interviews I looked at I became a fan of this man I
believe to be seeking the Truth.
Musically, The Will To Live takes my breath away. In
a lot of ways, especially vocally, Harper sounds like Lenny Kravitz's mellow
moments. That's not surprising, considering his self-proclaimed inspiration
by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, plus some borrowing of Zeppelin-style blues.
On the whole, this album is one beautiful, soothing piece of art--even
the electric songs seem laidback. Harper's pleasing, restrained vocals
glide quietly alongside his mostly acoustic strummings and fingerwork.
His backing band, the Innocent Criminals, provides plenty of steady bass
and relaxed drumming, while others guest with sax, string quartet, mandolin,
percussion, fiddle, and background vocals. A killer production and
mix makes it all shine. My deeper emotions are rarely moved by music,
but this album does it to me something serious.
It's tough from the lyrics to tell exactly where Ben's at spiritually.
In this aspect he resembles other musicians like Prince and the aforementioned
Lenny Kravitz, who appear to have a type of faith in Christ but perhaps
not quite within the lines set by Christ himself. I don't want to
judge the man, though; it's just intriguing to wonder because of the fruit
I see in his music. I find that I'm edified by many of Harper's words;
it is art after all, and doesn't true art gain meaning through one's perception
of it? In "I Want to Be Ready," he says:
Nailed across from hand to hand
for the sin of woman and man
all upon his earth is all within his plan
and I know this shall be my journey home
I want to be ready
ready to put on
my long white robe
That seems to me to be a clear reference to Christ, with an attitude
of submissive worship we should all strive for. On the album's
title track, he whispers softly amid psychedelic bluesy leads:
Some are born with more and some born with less
so don't take for granted the life we've been blessed
it's hard to understand that we're only a guest
and each one of us shall be put to life's test
Although not all the lyrics line up perfectly with Scripture (on "I
Shall Not Walk Alone" he talks of reaching for "Mother Mary"), the album
is chock full of Biblical vibes that somehow seem so much more powerful
when sung from outside the known, "safe," Christian music industry.
I'm glad our Father is able to speak through other voices when those who
openly claim his name can't quite convey his passion.
When all is said and done, I think Ben Harper is on his way to the
narrow gate if he's not already through it. He has the zeal for the
Lord; hopefully the Holy Spirit will give him the knowledge. I usually
never listen to lyrics, and skip the comments on them in reviews (hope
you haven't done that here), but Ben's words combined with his music have
really stirred my heart and spirit. Now I've got to go find his other
albums because my soul is thirsty to be spoken to (music being its language
and all that).
By Josh Spencer
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