Get Up!

Soulful blues world by Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite

No matter how loud it sounds, but on Get Up album two virtuoso of the genre decided to put their hands upon the creation of the blues world heritage. Namely, one of them is Ben Harper, a poet, a singer and a talented musician who in the 90s captivated everyone with his music, and Charlie Musselwhite, versatile and virtuosic musician, who is one of the pioneers of blues-rock wave of the 60s, and who in the the same 90's was one of the leaders in the art of playing the harmonica. This time the vast amount of experience and talent joined its forces to play a quality blues to us. Total number of album created by two musicians comes to 34. Of course, that with a bisque in almost 20 years Charlie Musselwhite is in the lead. But, no doubt, the essence lies not in this fact, but in the fact that even before listening to the album you can determine the level of the album, for whom and by whom it was written. Get Up album can be defined as a gift from bluesmen generation of the 60's and 90's to bluesmen generation of 21st century and its second decade. So we are waiting that LP will include these little tiny blues features in the form of ongoing, improvised, instrumental dialogue, heartbreaking lyrics about sorrows and joys of life, fiery rhythms and sensual voice of two masters. With all love and respect - meet Get Up album!

Many-sidedness of blues on Get Up LP

Get Up album opens with composition Don't Look Twice. It starts with typical blues chords, and in a minute is joined by harmonica, roll-over beats and all these are on the background of the magnificent vocals of Ben Harper. It is difficult to imagine for blues classics any other voice. One can say anything, but it is the way it should be - high, almost breaking and soulful. If the first track is a classic blues treatment, the second one called I'm In I'm Out And I'm Gone meets us with blues-rock rhythms. Not as hard as the old men from ZZ Top, but more bold-faced than the last track. Brash, abrupt rhythm, short sharp inclusions of harmonica and drawn, easy vocals. It seems that on this LP, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite decided to try themselves in different blues hypostases. And from the blues-rock genre of the second track we come to the third song of the album, called We Can't End This Way. With this characteristic rhythmic clapping, this track looks more like a gospel or spiritual. Soulfully, rhythmically music in the middle is coming back to a quiet measured pace, and here is the undoubtful reign of such songs like You Found Another Lover, melancholic and philosophical track I Ride At Dawn and final All That Matters Now. We should also mention such funny positive, as blues allows, tracks as incendiary Get Up!, dynamic and explosive Blood Side Out and playfully frolicsome She Got Kick. In general, the guys were able to show the diversity of blues and variety of its directions on the album, that it is not only the sadness and grief, but also the positive side.

Encyclopedia of blues genres

Encyclopedia of blues, this is how one can describe the album. Throughout the LP a feeling is created of something ancient, authentic, untouched and southern. As if Ben and his friend Charlie, did not rent a studio, not really gave a thought about melody and lyrics, and just had a drink of whiskey together at ranch, placed a tape recorder in front of them and pressed record. And who would argue, this would be the best way to record the blues masters such as Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite, while maintaining the atmosphere of an old sound, adding a distinctive lo-fi noise. But even with studio gadgets, Ben and Charlie were able in unpretentious, soulful and easy way to present to the public the album that brought us back to the days when the classic blues was at the peak of fame, and black voices were everywhere in the radio and on stage. The lyrics and its performance does not seem to be author-written, it is more like folk, something from those distant times, that was passing from mouth to mouth. Music and instrumental component is also amazing. What else can be expected from two professional musicians? Looking at Mr. Musselwhite no one can even say that he is an old man, and a pension here is out of the question. Despite the fact, that his name is already engraved in golden letters in the history of blues, he is ready to create and perform again and again. Add to this the contribution of Mr. Harper as a guitar and vocal accompaniment, and now you have made an approximate impression of the album Get Up. For a full immersion in the music - use your imagination, dim the lights and enjoy, it's really worth it!