Product Description

Throughout the '90s, Ben Harper's blend of blues, funk, soul, and folk quietly earned him a hardcore following of diehard fans over the span of four studio albums. For the two-CD LIVE FROM MARS, Harper and his tight three-piece band the Innocent Criminals cull performances from a variety of concerts, featuring interesting arrangements and odd nuances applied to his best-known songs, along with an eclectic array of covers.
Armed with his hollow-neck '20s-era Weissenborn lap slide guitar, Harper rages throughout the plugged-in Disc One with highlights including the human-beat box-driven radio hit "Steal My Kisses", and the churning opening number "Glory & Consequence". "Burn One Down", a sprightly ode to herb, evokes Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", while a simmering "Sexual Healing" channels the spirit of Marvin Gaye. Unplugged and introspective, Disc Two overflows with Biblical metaphors captured in delicate numbers like "Waiting on An Angel","Power of the Gospel", and "In the Lord's Arms". Tying it all together is a heartfelt reading of the Verve's "The DrugsDon't Work", and the epic 10-minute closer "Like a King/I'll Rise", featuring lyrics borrowed from a Maya Angelou poem.

Track Listing

1. Glory And Consequence
2. Excuse Me Mr
3. Alone
4. Sexual Healing
5. Woman In You
6. Ground On Down
7. Steal My Kisses
8. Burn One Down
9. Mama's Got A Girlfriend Now
10. Welcome To The Cruel World
11. Forgiven
12. Faded/Whole Lotta Love
13. Waiting On An Angel
14. Roses From My Friends
15. Power Of The Gospel
16. Pleasure And Pain
17. Please Bleed
18. Drugs Don't Work
19. In The Lord's Arms
20. Not Fire Not Ice
21. Beloved One
22. Number Three
23. Walk Away
24. Another Lonely Day
25. Like A King/I'll Rise

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11304 in Music
• Released on: 2001-05-07
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Live

Amazon.co.uk Review
After four studio albums, Ben Harper has finally released Live from Mars, his first official live set, a 25-song double-disc collection that surveys each of his four albums and adds a couple of well-executed, if not terribly inventive, covers. Disc one is electric and finds Harper and the Innocent Criminals tearing through their patented mix of rock, folk, soul and blues. Yet the solo acoustic disc two is the true prize, putting the spotlight squarely on Harper's incredibly agile, versatile and enormously moving voice. In this pared-down setting, Harper shows an uncanny ability to connect with his audience, offering one spellbinding performance after another. Culled from two years' worth of shows--no two songs are taken from the same concert--Live from Mars provides a welcome overview of Harper's many facets. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

this is fantastic
You are probably wondering whether to jump on this band wagon, after all the "surf scene is all the rage at the moment" well the truth is even in light of Jack Johnson's "sell out" in 2005 there is always this one chap that will be churning out the fantastic tunes with very little mainstream attention!

Ben Harper has been making some of the most chilled, often emotional and sometimes chirpy music for the past 10 years or so. He is the leader of the pack. This is probably the CD that you should get to get an overall picture of his talents.

One warning though... be prepared for the truly emotional and heartwrenching parts of songs to be overidden by an over-excited idiot ridden american audience to "whooop" and shout "i love you... i love this song... ilove you" over most of the quiter songs. You can however take a sense of snobbish glee from the long amount of time it takes them to catch on to the fact their favourite song is being played!!

Ben Harper, who is this unknown artist ?
I heard this cd whilst walking through Tower Records in London. It grabbed my attention straght away. Superb songs and lyrics.

Pity the cd is spoiled by loud americans whooping and hollering like a cheap rodeo all through it. After a while, I couldnt bear to listen again. It really is a good live recording,by a good singer with excellent material, but if they could of mixed out the shouting....

Ben is a real gem as an artist and I recommend some of the other cds instead of this one....

An amazing artist at his peak
Ben Harper really is a most amazing singer, guitarist, songwriter and interpreter of other peoples's songs. This album showcases all of those talents at their best. His beautiful, soulful voice shines on every track, and the whole resonates with beauty and feeling. One thing that never ceases to impress me is the way in which he handles cover versions, often coaxing more from them than the artist who wrote them. There's a few opportunities to see this in action on this double-CD, none better than "Sexual Healing" - who'd have thought anyone could ever make it sexier than Marvin? (And if you like Harper's cover versions, I would definitely recommend that you check out his version of "Strawberry Fields" from the soundtrack to "I am Sam" - puts the Beatles to shame!)