Filed under: music, pop culture | Tags: acoustic, ben harper, concert, marvin gaye
I supported the fight against legalized discrimination yesterday at Boston City Hall, and want to post more about the stirring experience. It’s a quiet Sunday, however, and requires change of pace from the constant brute force of politics and rhetoric.
I’m a big fan of Ben Harper, of his craftsmanship and intelligence (he named his band “Innocent Criminals,” and this seems a nod to me about the struggle of African Americans in our country).
Here’s Harper doing an acoustic cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”:
As a point of comparison, here’s Ben Harper pimped out in concert clothes, full stage lighting, and a back-up band, doing the same cover of “Sexual Healing”:
Which one do you prefer? Which version pays better homage to the artistry and lyricisim of Marvin Gaye?
Or maybe, it’s simply a matter of intimacy–you, the listener, in a small white-paneled room with Harper–contrasted with the communal power of a concert stage, Harper in front of thousands, all of these folks screaming and sharing in the body-thumping pulsing and raw emotion (“Oh my darling, won’t you just heal me?”)?
