By: Matthew Fox

Rating: 4 out of 5

Ben Harper is one of those artists that are as versatile as they are renowned. With such a reputation and a lengthy track record of releases, it’s no surprise that Give Till It’s Gone, Harper’s tenth and most recent studio album, has been much anticipated. When it comes to Ben Harper, I find him to be very hit-and-miss as an artist. At times he comes out with very so-so material such as Welcome to the Cruel World, but other times releases flawless records that don’t fail to impress for an instant, like Diamonds on the Inside. Give Till It’s Gone falls somewhere in between the “very good” and “incredible” range when compared to his other material.

Ben Harper loves to switch up genres at the drop of a dime, but this album seems to deviate much less than previous records. Sticking primarily to a rock n’ roll sound with the occasional funk-inspired track (“Waiting on a Sign”), it’s obvious that Harper put much more thought into crafting the songs themselves and less time focused on genre-bending. One thing is for sure: this is a highly emotional, almost biopic, record that will not fail to please.

The constant and energetic mood of the album makes for a feel good hit for summer listening (pardon my Queens of the Stone Age descriptor). With excitable songs such as “Clearly Severely” and “Don’t Give Up On Me Now” and the inspirational preaching of “Spilling Faith”, it seems impossible not to be elated when perusing the record. Now this does not mean that there aren’t slower songs on the album. Songs such as “Feel Love” and “Pray That Our Love Sees Dawn” are scattered about to give the listener a chance to catch their breath if needed, which will probably be the case.

And don’t worry diehard Harper fans, his slide guitar antics are definitely in the forefront throughout the album. “Rock N’ Roll Is Free” and “Dirty Little Lover” both are riddled with more slide guitar than most Louisiana bayou porches. Also, his backing band (no Relentless7?) is a force to be reckoned with, most notably in “Cleary Severely” and “Get There from Here”.

Although I wouldn’t suggest this as the first album to check out if you want to get into Ben Harper, it is definitely second or third on my list. Some of my favorite tracks include “Do It for You, Do It for Us”, “Spilling Faith”, and “Don’t Give Up On Me Now”.

Matthew Fox lives in Nashville, TN. He drives a Jeep, frequently looks up cute pictures of animals online, and once won $15 off a lottery ticket. An archive of his blog posts can be found at foxtalks.wordpress.com.