Product Description

By using a wide range of influences and styles, singer/songwriter Ben Harper manages to create a harmonious gem with BURN TO SHINE. Fans of Harper will not be thrown off by his dynamic versatility. In fact, new listeners will be drawn to the buffet of moods and emotions. "Steal My Kisses" is an up-tempo folk track that features a bit of human beat-boxing underneath. Harper's soft ballad voice shines bright on "Beloved One". Other tracks to check out are "Alone" and "The Woman in You", which both show off the tender side of Harper's songwriting. If you looking to rock outright, check out the title cut and "Forgiven".

Track Listing

1. Alone
2. Woman In You
3. Less
4. Two Hands Of A Prayer
5. Please Bleed
6. Suzie Blue
7. Steal My Kisses
8. Burn To Shine
9. Show Me A Little Shame
10. Forgiven
11. Beloved One
12. In The Lord's Arms

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53052 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-20
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ben Harper's musical eclecticism has been well established, but what often goes unnoticed is that few musicians possess such an expansive emotional range. And those complex, unsettled emotions never seem to come one at a time; instead, they are layers to be peeled and reassembled. When the mood is ominous, you still sense an urgent hopefulness around the bend, and even on a jaunty Dixieland number like "Suzie Blue", with its playful trombone and clarinet, you can see the clouds on the horizon. The tension may not always be overt, but it's never lower than just below the surface. Angry, aggressive metal rants; bruising, bombastic, operatic rockers; light-hearted Caribbean grooves; strutting Southern boogie; deep country soul; and delicate acoustic folk play out like scenes within a Byzantine film. Harper's soulful moans, agonised groans, and earth-shaking whispers narrate this battle between shadows and light, and his sonic war zone is as dynamic, detailed, and diverse as it's ever been. As weighty as but more personal than its three predecessors, Burn to Shine has the sensation of grandeur that seems to accompany all of Harper's work, but it's more than a delusion. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

An awesome album - welcome the new Bobby M!
Ben Harper isn't a name you will have heard if you're a commercial pop music addict - unless you've heard of the name of the father in "My Family" (different Ben guys), he won't sound familiar at all.

But His blend of acoustic, reggae, blues, rock and gospel tracks is impressive. He moves from track to track on "Burn to Shine" changing style like Kylie's life in fast forward, except mature from beginning to end. All of the tracks are powerful and, lets be honest, if you're looking for something which you aren't going to hear overplayed non-stop by radio/TV, give Ben Harper a try. (If you're less diverse in your music taste, I'd start with "Diamonds on the Inside")

Go on, broaden your horizons - just because he's shyed away from the MTV planet, doesn't mean he isn't the best artist ever (and that includes Salvador Dali)

great artist average record.
Ben Harper is one of the most original and exciting artists to have graced the music scene in years. Unfortunately on Burn to Shine we only see a glimmer of the talent this man is blessed with. Although 'Woman in you' and 'hands of a prayer' are strong examples of his song writing ability, I feel the album as a whole doesnt really work. It is plain to see that Ben Harper is influenced by a large range of styles including - soul,
blues,jazz,rock,country and roots. On previous albums Ben Harper subtley fuses these sounds together for a more well rounded and consistent style. Burn to shine see's an attempt to write a predominantly soul song followed by a rock tune...... so on and so forth. This has led to the making of an album with some outstanding tracks, but altogether a fairly disjointed experience.

Why is Burn to Shine not a multi-million selling album?
The world is unjust - if it were perfect then Burn to Shine by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals would be at the top of the album charts. It is quite simply stunning, from David Leach's percussion intro on 'Alone' to Harper's last chord on 'In the Lord's Arms'. Best tracks along the way have to be 'Alone', 'The woman in you' (thanx to Harper's sublime vocals) and the title track 'Burn to Shine'. If you like the Foo Fighter's softer stuff like 'Everlong' then this album will simply blow you away.