We weren’t the only ones who really liked Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite‘s 2013 collaboration Get Up!, judging by the GRAMMY Award it received for best blues album. Now the duo is back with another real kicker in No Mercy in This Land (ANTI- Records), a delightful mix of rootsy and rocking material that strongly positions Harper and Musselwhite for a repeat performance at the prestigious music awards.
With its haunting vocals and tough, gritty guitar riffs, the edgy, lightly rocking opener “When I Go” establishes right up front that the pair hasn’t lost any of the fire they displayed on their debut release, a point reiterated through later uptempo tracks such as “The Bottle Wins Again” and “Movin’ On”, the latter also serving as a great example of Harper’s brilliant songwriting, with lyrics that include “You practice law without a license, psychology too/ but your PhD is in givin’ me the blues” and “you get away with murder, you got a way with words/ speakin’ in a language that nobody’s ever heard” as the song indeed gets you moving with its greasy harmonica and a tearing guitar solo.