Give Till It’s Gone, the 10th studio album by American blues-rocker Ben Harper, suggests a summary of the last few years of his career and indeed, his life in the public eye during this time. The album signifies a few stand out things: one, Give Till It’s Gone, marks Harper’s last recording under the Virgin Records banner and two, it’s also the first album since his public split with wife (and actress), Laura Dern. Any sane mind would think that a significant change in record label and a momentous change in a musician’s personal life would provide oodles of inspiration for a latest album effort. With Harper, it’s clear that these events have not gone unnoticed.

Even if you aren’t a massive fan of Ben Harper, it’d be impossible to claim that the man cannot sing without an ounce of emotional projection. One of the striking things that have remained with Harper throughout his career is the level of emotional attachment he seems to have with his material, whether it be in the intensity and pace of the music or the depth and personal touches of his lyrics. On Give Till It’s Gone, Harper is at his rawest on “Don’t Give Up On Me Now” and “I Will Not Be Broken”; his strained vocals punching out through the music.

If we continue along the themes of anger and despair, it’d be easy to say that Give Till It’s Gone is a record which shows another facet of Harper’s musicality that hasn’t really been explored, at least not since his early days. His talent as a guitarist is not left in the shadows on this record by any means, with striking solos taking shape on tracks such as “Dirty Little Lover” and “Do It For You, Do It For Us”.

Give Till It’s Gone shows perhaps a more precise and modern Ben Harper coming through – I instantly got twinges of the nervous drum and keys Bloc Party cottoned onto and made their own, and the emotional power that Harper was able to produce in his latest group collaboration Fistful of Mercy, with acclaimed musicians Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur.

This is a break up record on many levels, but usually as a listener, we tend to look to these records for comfort and the bleak attitudes they sometimes send out. With Give Till It’s Gone though, Harper doesn’t let you get bleak; rather, he seems to want to express these themes with a sonic intensity familiar to his other records, but with a meaner new power… and mean in a good way.

Reviewer Score: 7/10