Ben Harper may be pure of heart in enlisting classic gospel act the Blind Boys of Alabama to collaborate with him on There Will Be a Light, but even the Blind Boys' graceful voices can't wholly redeem the jammy date-rock icon's platitudinous lyrics ("Take My Hand") and his generic barrelhouse-blues arrangements ("Wicked Man"). The traditional, a cappella "Mother Pray" is the best pure collaboration on the album, a mash of gospel austerity and soul pleading. But mostly the alliance works best when Harper hangs back a bit. "Where Could I Go," which plays like an elegantly spaced Fifties rock ballad, is a wonder, and the stark Bob Dylan composition "Well, Well, Well" sounds like a lost, brilliant 78-rpm side.

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."