Ben Harper and harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite unveiled a smoldering new song, “No Mercy In This Land,” the title-track from their forthcoming album, out March 30th.
The sparse and lonesome blues tune pairs Harper’s steely guitar with the raspy blare of Musselwhite’s harmonica. The pair share vocal duties as well. Their voices and instruments mesh woefully above a steady march of percussion. “The righteous and the wretched, the holy and the damned,” Harper sings, “There’s no mercy in this land.”
No Mercy In This Land is available to pre-order and comes with an instant download of the title-track. A digital deluxe edition of the record will feature three bonus tracks recorded live at the Machine Shop. Per a statement, the record features “both Ben and Charlie’s personal stories and adds to the sonic history of American struggle and survival.” No Mercy In This Land follows Harper and Musselwhite’s acclaimed 2013 collaboration, Get Up!, which won the Grammy for Best Blues Album.
“Charlie Musselwhite is that very rare and hallowed place where blues past, present and future collide,” Harper said of the harmonica player. “He transforms notes into emotions that feel both hauntingly familiar and brand new, as if hearing them for the first time every time. He is a living legend whose harmonica playing should be beamed into outer space to search for other life forms.”
In turn, Musselwhite said of working with Harper, “Onstage or in the studio – working with Ben Harper holds the same excitement I experienced working with Chicago blues legends back in the day. I think it is safe to say that Ben has reinvented the blues in a great way: playing modern while preserving the feel.”
Harper and Musselwhite will embark on a world tour in support of No Mercy In this Land that starts with a two-night stand at the Fillmore in San Francisco, March 30th and 31st. The pair will then tour Europe throughout April, but they’ll kick off an official North American run with two nights at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, May 7th and 8th. Tickets go on sale January 26th.
No Mercy In This Land Track List
1. “When I Go”
2. “Bad Habits”
3. “Love And Trust”
4. “The Bottle Wins Again”
5. “Found The One”
6. “When Love Is Not Enough”
7. “Trust You To Dig My Grave”
8. “No Mercy In This Land”
9. “Movin’ On”
10. “Nothing At All”
Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite Tour Dates
