I didn’t listen to this yet- but I did go to one of their shows at the Fillmore in SF.. my advice: If you love Charlie’s playing, wait, and go to a regular show of his. This is what I’d call a version‘Bluz Rock’ - Ben Harper’s version. Every beat pounded on by drummer and bass- no syncopation- no groove. Not Charlie’s natural ‘happy place’ from what I can tell- though a better than average payday I’m sure he’s happy to get.
Ben’s lap slide playing rudimentary. All at very loud volumes.
Listen to Taj Mahal and Keb Mo’s recent stuff if you want to hear a really good ‘elder-younger’ collaboration. ---------- Bone's music videos
They play a beautiful song together at the end of the interview. Marc - the interviewer - says they each brought a small Fender Champion to play thru. Sounded great.
Nice to hear Ben and Charlie. I will see their show next week in Paris :-)
But Marc Maron is a terrible interviewer: he keeps cutting off their answers and talking over top of his guests. Marc seems to want to show off how much he knows, rather than let his guests tell their stories (and finish their sentences!).
Last Edited by AppalachiaBlues on Apr 14, 2018 12:23 PM
My wife and I went to their concert on Wednesday at La Cigale in Paris. It was a great performance, which we really enjoyed. I don't need to share any details, since it was recorded... so you can watch for yourself. Enjoy!!!
My understanding is that Charlie and Ben were friends through music for years and years before they actually worked together recently.
Ben is a little younger and has the attention of post Boomer generations, while Charlie has us older folk....
IMO, Ben deciding to take Charlie along with him on part of his ride can only expose Charlie to a few generations that may not have been aware.
Not saying this was the reason for the match up, but it is a very nice side effect...(in my imagination, younger folk going to a Ben Harper show might just think - WOW. I gotta check out that older dude's recordings, too!) ---------- The Iceman
As Iceman correctly points out, the article goes on to say:
For acclaimed singer/songwriter Ben Harper and iconic bluesman Charlie Musselwhite the payoff of working together is obvious. Harper gets, as he says, accepted into the elite blues community, while Musselwhite is heard by a wider audience.
Last Edited by AppalachiaBlues on Apr 22, 2018 2:36 PM
Regarding the concert recording on YouTube, the video and audio seem to be slightly out of synch when I watch it. Are you guys also having this problem?
Last Edited by AppalachiaBlues on Apr 22, 2018 2:43 PM
