Harper album soulful and moving

By ANDREW OLDS
Music Editor

Ben Harper has always been different. Where the music industry pushes singles, Harper delivers lush, full albums. Where the music industry has often strayed from the original path of rock, Ben Harper has built a home. Harper continues down his own road of success with his latest release, Burn To Shine.

Billed as a folk songsmith since his breakthrough in 1994 with the acoustic Welcome To The Cruel World, Harper has been at the cusp of a commercial breakthrough. While that hasn't happened, Harper and his bandmates, The Innocent Criminals, have built a large and loyal underground following that is attracted to his diverse collection of songs.

Burn To Shine opens with two delightful but dramatically different tracks, "Alone" and "The Woman In You." "Alone" is a solemn and muted acoustic confessional, while "The Woman In You," sung in a falsetto reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, is a seductive Motown love song. These two disparate songs are a harbinger of the entire album, as Harper is unafraid of putting a foray in ragtime next to a Zeppelinesque anthem.

Harper has been criticized in past works for mediocre lyrics lacking an emotional connection. Apparently he has been reading his reviews, as Burn To Shine contains his most personal lyrics to date. On "Please Bleed," Harper cries: Please bleed / so I'll know that you are real / so I'll know that you can feel / the damage that you've done, revealing pain in his personal life that Harper had ignored in earlier compositions.

While Burn To Shine is an incredibly varied album, there are two things that remain constant: the stunning bass of Juan Nelson and the incredible voice of Harper. Nelson proves himself to be equally adept at carrying a rock rhythm, as on the Rolling Stones-like title track, or leading on several of the album's alluring grooves. Harper's voice is like an added instrument and, like those of contemporaries Beth Orton and Rufus Wainwright, contains a small slice of magic that turns average lyrics or an indifferent riff into a beautiful song.

Drummer Dean Butterworth and percussionist David Leach, combined with the guitar work of Harper, add texture to the album. Though Harper is a noted guitarist, he picks and chooses his moments, opening up on the title track while turning down his guitar on the gospel-like "Show Me A Little Shame." Though Butterworth and Leach are not as dynamic, they serve as a good complement to the smoothness of Harper and Nelson.

Each song on Burn To Shine yields a different surprise from Harper. The chilling rock anthem "Please Bleed" mixes power chords with emotional lyrics, two things Harper had previously been lacking in his music. "Steal My Kisses" is a saucy journey into Al Green funk, while "Suzie Blue" is a delightful Joplinesque ragtime with Harper's divine voice at its most succulent.

There are two major deficiencies to Harper's fourth album. The larger problem is that Burn To Shine lacks a defining track to vault his music into the mainstream.

Though his album is filled with 12 wonderful well-crafted tunes, not one of them stands out as an instant marketable success. The other problem is that the diversity is often forced. On tracks such as the gospel-driven "Show Me A Little Shame," Harper fails to find focus, offering the variety in the music as the only hook.

Burn To Shine captures Harper at his finest - the confessional ballads, the sensuous melodies and the emotional lyrics are all there. Though it appears he is destined to remain a secret to all but his loyal fan base, Burn To Shine proves that rock can be diverse and accessible. While Burn To Shine might not receive any radio airplay, it is undoubtedly one of the essential albums of 1999.

Tricky doesn't trip

When an artist's debut is critically hailed as one of the best albums of the decade, his or her subsequent work is usually subjected to closer and harsher scrutiny. Such has been the case with trip-hop/hip-hop auteur Tricky. Since the immense acclaim lauded on 1995's Maxinquaye, many have disparaged the lack of innovation in Tricky's following albums. Tricky's latest release Juxtapose is an answer to his detractors.

Collaborating with DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and Grease of DMX's Ruff Ryders, the album is Tricky's most rap-oriented yet, and though it is a clear departure from his past work, it should not displease his long-time fans. Rather than the melting layers of indeterminate sludge that have come to characterize Tricky's sound, Juxtapose exhibits crisp production that makes great use of guitar samples and orchestral ornamentation. Tricky's low, menacing whisper contrasts well with such clarity, as well as with the rapid, higher-pitched rapping of Mad Dog, displayed on "Hot Like a Sauna" and "Bom Bom Diggy."

Tricky aficionados will immediately notice the absence of Martina Topley-Bird, his female counterpart on previous albums.

Unfortunately, their fluid exchange is sorely missing from Juxtapose, as other singers do not measure up to the uniqueness of her voice. Even on the standouts "Contradictive" and "Call Me," one cannot help but imagine the songs bettered with Martina's vocals.

Nonetheless, Juxtapose represents a major and much-needed transition in Tricky's career, moving him beyond his trip-hop roots into a wider generic and collaborative scope. The album, while not his best work, preserves Tricky's mystique while proving that he remains one of the most experimental and creative artists in music today.

- Kara Kalenius | Staff Writer

Copyright 1999 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 138, No. 10 (Tuesday, September 14, 1999), beginning on page 7 and ending on page 9.