Ben Harper w/ Charlie Musselwhite: Get Up

[beetlemania]

24/96 from HDTracks

 

Well, HDT stills sells the occasional dubious "hires" title, and they should be publicly humiliated for failing to do simpleton tests of their titles, but they should also get credit for when they do get it right.

 

Get Up is the latest Ben Harper release. In many ways, it's typical BH with many really well crafted and heartfelt performances interlaced with a couple of, IMO, angry headbanging type songs that I'd rather were left to an album dedicated to such noise. Nevertheless, this is overall a great album, especially for BH fans. I really dig the Musselwhite harmonica as an addition. Harper has a wonderful style that combines elements of blues and rock, his very own flavor of "Americana"

 

Using the Stereophile rating scheme. I give it 4 stars for both performance and sonics. A couple of tracks are pushing the limits of clipping/compression (and the attached image has a few seconds of weirdness that I'm guessing might be a mistake in the mixing room) but this looks to me like genuine hi-res. Well done.