Album Details

• Artist: Fistful Of Mercy
• Album: As I Call You Down
• Label: HOT Records
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: toddlevinsonfrank on 2011-02-10

Fistful of Mercy, a folky supergroup of sorts featuring Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur, and George Harrison’s son Dhani, bring the mellow CSN-style harmonies and soothing strums on their debut album As I Call You Down.

Touted as a spontaneous 3-day studio session in L.A., it sounds pretty cohesive and consistent even if it’s not mind-blowing or transcendent. The name Fistful of Mercy makes them sound like a metal band, but As I Call You Down sounds more like hugs than fists.

After the first few tunes lull you in with a nondescript and almost-dull pace, the album gets a little more interesting as it travels through the stomp of “Father’s Son,” the beautiful but not-boring instrumental “30 Bones,” and the bouncy, nervous and catchy “Things Go Round.”

While Harper and Arthur are already well known and established, Dhani Harrison is “still my father’s son” as he admits on the aforementioned tune. We’ve all seen the clips of him strumming along to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” fronted by Tom Petty and featuring a legendary guitar shredding by Prince from the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame telecast tribute to George a few years ago. But this is the first time to sink our teeth, or ears, into the younger Harrison as an artist on his own. And while he’s not completely on his own here (all the songwriting credits are shared by all three of them), you can hear the potential and eerie similarity in sound to his famous fab father. It will be interesting to see and hear if and when Harrison releases a real solo album.

Considering all the praise often heaped on Lennons Julian and Sean at various times, it’s not hard to Imagine that the legacy of the underrated quiet Beatle is that one that will be really Something.

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