Customer Reviews
Not a patch on his earlier work. - By: gypsytwang, 19 Jan 2008 
Lifeline is far & away Harper's weakest album. I am a great fan of all his earlier work but this is a poor album on every level. The lyrics are weak & the music borders on the sort of middle of the road dross someone like Terence Trent Darby would put out! Certainly there is no song on here that will last the test of time like "Excuse me Mr", "The will to live", "Whipping boy" or "Alone".
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Lifeline is that the performances are so so ordinary. Ben Harper does have a unique & wonderful voice but it sounds strained & souless here. On top of that, the over-compressed production makes it hard on the ears.
I really hope that Ben Harper's next album is a return to form because this just isn't good enough.
Please ignore the first review - By: Stephen Tozer, 24 Nov 2007 
I'm a massive fan of Ben Harper- I'm familiar with all his work & own most of his albums. This is brilliant. It's possibly the best album I own & I'd advise anyone to get it. In fact I'd INSTRUCT EVERYONE to get it. It's a mix of soul, funk, acoustic & rock & Ben Harper's incredible voice can (and does) easily singin any of those genres as though he was born to do so. You won't be disappointed.
The Middle Of The Road - By: P. Bessell, 08 Oct 2007 
Due to his cult status, if you're reading this then you're probably already a fan of Ben Harper's music, so I won't bore you with the normal back catalogue & history dissection.
On hearing that he would be re-joining forces (in the studio) with his great band -The Innocent criminals- I got very excited & went out & bought the special addition box set. I was very happy with the presentation of this CD. It all camein a nice little box containing separate sleeves for the CD & the DVD. You also get a really nice photo book, loaded with shots of the boysin the studio & hanging around Paris. My only gripe with the package is that the DVD has no extras. Yes you could argue that the DVD is,in it's self an extra but for £26 they could've put some behind the scenes stuff on there to keep the fans happy.
Now to the Album.
The first thing you notice is just how...safe everything sounds. The album opens with a quiet but catchy song called Fight Outta You. Which, vocally, sounds very low & almost monotone. The album rolls along & it's not until you're a few songsin that you start to cringe & realise that Ben Harper has squarely & firming landed himselfin the middle of the road. It does pain me to say, but if you know his history then you will be shocked just how ordinary these songs are, gone are the pain felt lyrics & the words that, probably, helped millions of fans get through the hard times, & instead you get Clichés & watered down throw-away lyrics, on Lifeline it seems that Ben has become a parody of himself, everything sounds like something else & nothing really sounds like him, except for Lifeline, the title track which closes the album, & is perhaps the albums only saving grace.
Maybe that's because he plays his beloved Weissenborn guitar, or maybe it's because it is the only track off this, unbecoming, album where Ben actually sounds like he's singing from the heart.
Ben: Must Try Harder. x
Great album. Great artist. - By: Pirlo21, 28 Sep 2007 Ben Harper is an amazingly talented singer, songwriter & musician. So much so, that at times his versatility has been his beggest enemy.
His influences (Hendrix, Gaye, Dylan, Marley etc) are always apparent on his albums, & because of that mix of styles, the flow of his albums sometimes suffer.On Lifeline he's stuck to one sound. A smooth, almost soulful folk style (if that makes sense!), & the album works.
My only chritisism would be that his lyrics aren't anywhere near as strong as they have beenin the past. He's always been very conscious/political/spiritual, but here it feels as though he wants the words for the sound they make, rather than their meaning.Allin all a great album by a great artist.
If you're new to Ben Harper, try his live album 'Live From Mars' for a peek at this man's genius.
