It is becoming obvious to me that at some point in a person’s life they become a sentimental dork. This appears to occur in the thirties or even later in life, but, inevitably, it seems to happen. Also, I have this stinking suspicion that musicians become comfortable or even become victim to money. When this occurs, a musician’s music falls victim to the fridge buzz and, in some cases, the musician’s head swells and she feels she can do anything.
This brings me to Ben Harper and his new disappointment Diamonds on the Inside. Wow…what can I say? Some songs are okay: Diamonds on the Inside, When It’s Good, Touch from Your Lust, and Everything. Notice the word “okay” versus the word “good”. The songs, like the rest of the album, are simply okay and nothing terribly memorable.
After Will to Live, things for Ben haven’t really gone anywhere. Fight for Your Mind, a personal favorite, was his second album and is far more complete than his current album. Burn to Shine hinted at some “good things to come”, but that album still missed something. And so does Diamonds on the Inside: direction.
Harper starts off with a reggae song, With My Own Two Hands, which is not well done. His voice doesn’t fit and the reggae is just sort-of-reggae. From here, nothing seems to hit except negative elements. When She Believes starts off like this, “The good lord is such a good lord with such a good mother too…” Hey Ben, get a thesaurus. Brown Eyed Blues and Amen Omen use an electric drum beat a la David Gray. Then, on Bring the Funk, I was listening to the album for the first time and I thought I had downloaded a George Clinton song by accident. Picture of Jesus was done with an African vocal group and reminded me of The Lion King. I felt like I should be accompanied by Timon and Pumbaa and Simba on my living room couch and…I could be in a Life Savers commercial, too…either way I don’t care…the song goes on too long.
Finally, a slow song ends the album and I’m left confused and unsatisfied. I felt used. Where the hell was I? Ben, you didn’t take me anywhere. I’m still in my friggin’ living room waiting for your album to light up. He has now officially entered the category of “once promising young musician hits the wall”. There is no and I mean no passion in his voices which, by the way, has lost its once beautiful resonance as a result of Harper pushing his range. One last note before I depart: On Late Night with David Letterman Harper didn’t play lead guitar. He has entered the realm of lazy and comfortable. That is never a good place for any artist to reside.
- Bob Sullivan
