Track Listing

1. Three Of Us
2. Whipping Boy
3. Breakin' Down
4. Don't Take That Attitude To Your Grave
5. Waiting On An Angel
6. Mama's Got A Girlfriend Now
7. Forever
8. Like A King
9. Pleasure And Pain
10. Walk Away
11. How Many Miles Must We March
12. Welcome To The Cruel World
13. I'll Rise

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12738 in Music
• Released on: 1994-07-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
The aggressive, powerhouse sound singer/songwriter Ben Harper would introduce with his band the Innocent Criminals on 1998's THE WILL TO LIVE is not present on the artist's debut,WELCOME TO THE CRUEL WORLD. Instead, this '94 album shines a spotlight on Harper's acoustic guitar, plaintive voice, and soulful folk songs. Harper's intensity as a performer is clear from the opening guitar instrumental "The Three of Us" (which commands attention with its subtle, simple repetitions) to "I'll Rise", a gospel-inflected interpretation of MayaAngelou's poem "And Still I Rise".
Sonically, the recordis of a piece, with understated dynamics and an emphasis onintimate, acoustic, bluesy folk-rock. But Harper impresses most with his penchant for incorporating a range of stylistic influences, such as the late-'60s reggae cast of "Breakin'Down" and the Cajun-country romp of "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now". Moreover, Harper strikes an admirable balance between songs that address issues of social injustice ("Like a King") and those that touch on personal concerns of love and identity ("Pleasure and Pain"). This combination, on top of Harper's obvious musical talents, makes for an impressive, thoroughly enjoyable first effort.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding
I went out and bought this record after enduring a friend's earnest recommendations for a week or two. I am not disappointed with it. This album bears all the hallmarks of musical genius, and from the passionate, heart-wrenching acoustics of "Waiting on an angel" to the thought-provoking and incipient lyrics of "How many miles must we march?", no self-respecting fan of real, soulful, genuine music can go without this outstandingly impressive and original masterpiece.

Without doubt one of my favourite albums of all time.

Ben Plays On Rockier Ground
Ben Harper's first album had a real acoustic feel to it; the songs were accompanied by bongo drums at times, and although that might sound a little bit cringe-worthy, the overall effect of the album was a balanced and relaxing listen.

Here on his second album he starts the progression towards rock that he continued in the following albums; Harper's electric guitar-playing is allowed more of the spotlight as they go on, and the rhythmic, almost reggae-like quality is given less emphasis. There are still some great tracks on this album('Waiting on an Angel', 'Forever' and the title track are prime examples), and the quality of song-writing and melody composition is a hall-mark that cannot be hidden by any amount of Lenny Kravitz style posturing. This album still merits four stars because there is still much evidence of the more chilled-out Ben, and after a while even some of the louder tracks grew on me.

So approach Ben with care; he's a wonderful talent - if you prefer your music to come from the 'Punch the Air' rock school, then go to his most recent albums: 'Burn to Shine' and 'Live From Mars'. If you want to hear a slightly more mellowed-out peaceful Ben, then start at the beginning with 'Fight for your Mind', and THEN try this one...

Just beautiful
THis is honestly worth buying just for waiting on an angel, which i think is the only song that has ever made me cry purely on the basis of its beauty. there are other similarly heartfelt gems on here, and these easily out weigh the less convincing rockier tracks (mama's got a girlfirend now is almost cringeworthy) certainly not an album you can be disappointed with.