Ben Harper and his latest band, the "Relentless7" cover two songs on their newest release, "White Lies for Dark Times". The album is due out May 5, and will include Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times" and Prince's "Purple Rain".

I first heard of Ben when I read Prince mention him in a magazine article, then ironically that same day, a buddy at work told me about him as well. So that night I went out and bought his latest album, "Burn 2 Shine" and I've been a huge fan of his ever since. I highly recommend giving this guy's music a listen, the man’s a TRUE artist and the story of how he became a musician is really quite amazing. He was born to make music.

Anyway, you can listen to the song on their MySpace page

http://www.myspace.com/RELENTLESSSEVEN
(If this link is a violation please just remove it)

Before you listen I must warn you...this is not your typical remake. Ben really takes this song and makes it his, which is what you'd expect from a guy like him. I believe not that many on here will like it, but I do...after the second listen anyway LOL

Peace Out!
[Edited 2/23/09 16:13pm]

"Ben Harper And The Innocent Criminals",his former band, performed Purple Rain live (but you probably already knew )

Very enjoyable cover, thanks.

i actually kinda like this. thanks.

Nice... When will they work 2gether, could be so nice !

He already covered "If I Was Your Girlfriend" a couple of years ago:

I have a live version of him doing an Acoustic of Purple Rain from 10 years.

Jacq said:

I've had the joy of seeing Ben and the Innocent Criminal on two occasions. Awesome to see them perform live!

But this is the first I'm hearing he's done Purple Rain and If I Was Your Girlfriend. I'm Blown away by it. Thanks for the info you guys and for putting up that youtube video, anc282!
[Edited 2/21/09 23:21pm]

ronnwinter said:

Does the older one have the same vibe or did he play it closer to the original Prince song?

Thanks
[Edited 2/21/09 23:11pm]

soulfunky said:

Who?

Oh, you mean me...

it's anC 282

anc282 said:

My bad, I should have copied and paste. LOL

I love you Ben keep up the good work.

SOULFUNKY,
In my opinion the acoustic from years ago is much better. It seems more heartfelt, which is something really needed to pull this song off. Prince has NEVER sung this song the same way he did on the album. Hes never felt it the same way and it shows. Every cover Ive heard lacks that same detail...EMOTION.
Ben came as close as you can to capturing that same feeling in his Live acoustic performance. The relentless7 version is good musically, but vocally..not so good.

ronnwinter said:

-----
"Prince has NEVER sung this song the same way he did on the album. "

I guess you missed a lot of great performances of PR over the years.

laurarichardson said:

No, ive actually seen more than I can count, but his voice doesnt express the same feeling as he did in 1983 when he recorded PR. Now musically, he has rocked it many times! Im talking about the emotion in his voice though.

Ben Harper (And the Innocent Criminals) is one of the few non-Prince concerts I have attended. I saw him back in 2001, and Jack Johnson opened for him.

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

We're in the same boat; I've been to almost as many Prince and Ben Harper concerts than all others combined. Back in 2001, I was so impressed with Jack's performance on stage, I went to the lobby and bought his album immediately. What about you?

ronnwinter said:

Thanks for the insight and I hear where you're coming from. It's my opinion that Ben has done the best remake of Purple Rain to date. But I will say this, you can knock Ben Harper for a lot of things, but lack of emotional depth in his voice is not one of them. I understand, it’s just one song, but I don’t feel Ben took the emotional night off on this song. It just a different emotion, his.
[Edited 2/23/09 16:17pm]

Wack.....