This week's
topic is music that have soul. What does this mean exactly? When I was mulling
this new column over I remembered a piece by Steve Heimoff in 2012 that touched
on the topic of soul in wine and used a music analogy, hearing Marvin Gaye’s "I
Heard It Through the Grapevine" as a kid, to set the tone. Heimoff was
riffing on the thoughts of another writer (Lisa Airy for the Baltimore Sun) after having read their treatment of
the question "What does it take to be great?" in the context of wine.
There are two points from the original author that Heimoff specifically crafted
his piece around that to me answer the question I asked above. They are “A …wine [that] is a very real combination
of scent, flavor and texture that is seamless, multi-faceted, and unending from
first sip to swallow, from first sip to last sip.” and “The experience [of a soulful wine] should be such a sensorial
onslaught as to capture your complete and undivided attention.” Whether it
is wine or music those two statements sum up the concept of soul I am hinting at,
multi-faceted, intensely textured, sensorially captivating; demanding complete
and undivided attention.
I'm late
jumping on the Ben Harper train. He's already been underground and indie, has already
gone big and won awards, been the
"it" musician and best I can tell has now settled into his unique
stride entertaining loyal fans with performances worldwide, producing for
others and giving time & resources to the many global causes he is
outspoken about and supports. Ben Harper's music has a vibrant soul, and based
on what I've read about him personally, so does he.
I recently
caught "I'm In I'm Out And I'm Gone: The Making of Get Up!"on
Palladia. The show is part making of and part studio performance for the new
Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite collaboration, "Get Up!" At the
time I first watched it I knew next to nothing about Harper and absolutely
nothing about Musselwhite, and technically I still don't. But the music
commanded my attention. Harper on slide guitar (his signature style which of
course I would learn more about after downloading more of his music) and
Musselwhite on harmonica is a real sensorial onslaught. "I Don't Believe a
Word You Say" is my favorite track from the "Get Up!" disc.
The video
above is a the performance of "I Don't Believe a Word You Say" from the Get Up! special. Turn it up loud and
listen to the different layers from the musicians. It may be stripped down musically, but is isn't simple and has plenty of soul.
During the
special on the making of Get Up! Both Musselwhite and Harper talked about how
they met (at a session with John Lee Hooker no less) and that they were “following
a feeling” and “letting the music lead them” which brought them to where they
were right then. Talk about tuned in, switched on and paying attention!
After the
special was over I headed to the cloud. I have been 13 year member of
Emusic.com and once I found the Ben Harper page I bounced around the artist bio
and album pages to get a feel for what was available and downloaded a cross
section of studio and live tunes that I could chew on. Amongst the songs I
downloaded there is one I keep coming back to, "The Will To Live". I
specifically like the live version of it from the "The Will To Live: Live
EP" originally recorded during the 1997 world tour. With lyrics like those
below I don't think it is very hard to expect the song to have a bit of soul.
"I met a girl whose heart was on the
right hand side
And upon the left an angel did reside
They told her mother that she never would
survive
But she kept the rhythm and is still alive,
she's still alive
And we must all have the will to live
Oh, you got to have the will to live
Oh, the will, oh, the will
The will to live
..."
I couldn't find that particular version online but this one is similar and should provide context. After
listening to the song I immediately stopped to think about what it really means
to have the will to live and why don't more people live life to the fullest
without having to have experienced calamity for perspective? I've been lucky
enough to gain perspective after personal health problems, but I don't think
that is required to be able to grasp the soul of this song.
The slide
guitar on this track (the live one I specifically like) initially comes across as just behind the bass in the texture
stack, then it jumps forward and for the rest of the track they trade places
with the guitar also bouncing from right to left and back. It takes focus to absorb it all. Another stylistic facet
for Harper is a soulful whisper in his vocals, which is clearly evident on this
track. At about four and half minutes (or so depending on version) into the track a group of
vocalists, Harper included, create a lullaby type medley that Harper stretches
out to nearly the close of the track. There is something so human and soulful
there. I'm profoundly touched by it. Examples of this soul exist throughout Ben
Harper's collection. If you aren't familiar with Harper and dig an eclectic mix
of blues, folk, soul, rock and plenty of energetic guitar playing find this
music and stick it in your brain!
So what
about the beverages? I am going to go with a pairing rather than deconstruct the
soul of a particular drink this week. The music on the Get Up! record offers a
lot to take in with its mix of both mellow and up-tempo blues. It immediately
made me think of Bourbon, a great example of the harmony of mellow and lively
elements in a glass. I watched the special a second time with a glass of
Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon in hand and it was a fine pairing indeed. The
Bourbon is complex in its own right, with a nice balance of sweet and smoky
elements which played off the music very well. It occurred to me that a cigar
might have been a nice addition, but I’ll save that for another day.
Sane or
crazy, you decide. Hopefully it was entertaining!
Cheers!
Jason
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