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Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals

Ben Harper continues to make music that matters. This new album may be shy of hit singles, but it's shy of nothing else. It's a beautifully composed disc that Harper fans should love -- and it should also convince boomers, especially, that there's still great new music out there. Harper really shows his influences here, from the tip of the hat to Van Morrison on the dreamy "In the Colors" (reminiscent of Morrison's "Into the Mystic") to Otis Redding on the cathartic ballad "Needed You Tonight" (a seeming homage to Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness") and to Neil Young in the piquant, harp-spiced "Fool for a Lonesome Train," which could fit snugly onto Young's "Harvest" album. It's a reflective, organic record that starts with the challenging "Fight Outta You," in which Harper asks listeners not to get steamrolled by The Man. He doesn't play as much guitar this time but opts for many gorgeously melodic piano riffs, as on the gentle, hymn-like "Younger Than Today." There are a couple of great rockers on "Say You Will" (with a gospel-style female chorus) and "Put It on Me," with this vivid line: "I was lost out in the desert while you were busy swimming in wine." Harper cuts to the core of everything he does, including the slide instrumental "Paris Sunrise #7" and the closing "Lifeline," a soulful track about staying positive in life. [Steve Morse]

Ben Harper headlines the Orpheum Theatre Sept. 23.