Like his fellow Americans the Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & the Blowfish and Jack Johnson, Ben Harper is an artist who has gained considerable success in his homeland but is still relatively unknown in the UK.Timed to coincide with his European summer tour, this re-release of 2007’s Lifeline album, which includes a bonus disc of 10 live tracks, goes some way to explaining the cool reception our fair isles have given the Californian-born singer-songwriter.

Opener ‘Fight Outta You’ is indicative of what is to come - slickly produced, consummately played classic mid-tempo soul, filled with trite lyrics that are so damned universal and lacking in edge they end up meaning very little to anyone at all. The penultimate track - a delicate instrumental - is an interesting reprieve, but it can’t save this largely mediocre set.

An example par excellence of music as a lifestyle choice, Lifeline is easy on the ear, coldly corporate, and, in the final analysis, completely forgettable.

Ian Sinclair