Ben Harper
By My Side
4.5/5 stars
Reggae/Blues rock
Known for his soulful cocktails of reggae and jazz, Ben Harper’s newest project,By My Side is a reaffirmation of his superior musical bartending skills. This album mimics the intimacy of a café open mic night, but with a twist — raw talent.
The record welcomes us with a potent love ballad. “Forever,” is hardcore love and fantasy, only on the rocks. It’s smooth and pleasant to take in and leaves listeners with a relaxing buzz in anticipation of what’s to come.
Harper starts slowly, then picks up the pace at “Gold to Me” and “Diamonds on the Inside,” at which point he is reminiscent of a young Lenny Kravitz — aggressively flavorful and sexy at the same time.
Eccentric and foreign string patterns are accessorized with light drums that recall the Bob Marley influence that made audiences first fall in love with Harper almost ten years ago. But if there is one thing Harper has mastered it’s the art of “stirring it up.”
The last track of the album, “Crazy Amazing,” is the maraschino cherry of the concoction. It seems to have absorbed the constituents of the project — the passion, the pain, the pressure, all of which are present, but deeply overpowered by an intoxicating sweetness.
Ultimately, Harper showed up in this album in all the ways that listeners can expect. While maintaining his previously established stream of evolution stemming all the way from his 1999 album Burn to Shine, he’s perfected the rugged ballad style he so greatly conveys. By My Side is an absolute love project — rough around the edges.
— Mballa Mendouga
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