Both Sides of the Gun

Ben Harper & Relentless7, Ben Harper

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 21, 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000EGEKWE
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,665 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Split onto two discs, these 18 songs could have fit on one. It's a testament to Harper's aesthetic sensibilities that it is so configured, thereby both avoiding the scourge of the overly long album and dividing the raw, pummeling rockers from the ballads. With his band, the Innocent Criminals, he tears into such songs as "Get It While You Like It" and "Engraved Invitation" with Rolling Stones Exile-era verve. Their finely honed interplay allows the disc-closing "Serve Your Soul" to truly soar. The quieter disc makes its intentions clear from the outset, as a lightly fingerpicked guitar is enveloped by a string section. Within the two discs' separate identities there is variety and dramatic contrast, each one functioning as its own statement. Harper continues to embrace a variety of influences and genres. Lyrically his songs stretch from matters political to introspective emotions. --David Greenberger

Product Description
With the release of his seventh studio album, the double-disc Both Sides of the Gun, Ben Harper offers his signature mix of rock, soul, and folk music, while also venturing into new territory. "I was hoping I could come back to the root of my earlier records, the sparseness and intimacy," he says, "and also branch out further in a produced sound than ever before." From the blazing Curtis Mayfield/Stevie Wonder-style funk of "Black Rain" to the gentle sway of "Morning Yearning" to the full-on power ballad "Waiting for You," the eighteen songs on Both Sides reveal a master stylist at the peak of his game.

Special Edition includes Bonus CD featuring four alternate mixes and two live tracks.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both Sides of Today's Most Talented Artist, March 21, 2006

By	griphfunk the rock nasty "music fanatic" (provo ut) - See all my reviews

Ben Harper truly is today's most talented artist. He is an excellent guitarist as displayed on this two disc set. Harper's latest album is a perfect display of the both sides of Ben Harper. Each side of Ben is represented on a disc of its own. Disc one is the sensitive singer-songwriter while disc two is the political fireball.
"Morning Yearning" opens up the first disc with some simple romance. In this song Ben seems to celebrating the simple joys of family life. Plus you have to love the poetic imagery of the phrase, "Like a summer rose, I'm a victim of the fall but am soon returning."
"Sweet Nothing Serenade," is quite possibly the best of Ben Harper's instrumentals. The tune is one of those songs that you instantly felt like you've heard before.
Of course a collection of Ben Harper slow songs would not be complete without some tales of heartbreak in the tradition of "Walk Away" or "Another Lonely Day." On this album that song is "More Than Sorry."
"Crying Won't Help You Now," is classic bitter break up tune. The back up vocals on the chorus make the song quite pretty.
The suprising thing about this disc is the string arrangements. Not that Ben has never performed with strings but it has rarely been done this well. Many times the string arrangements on songs such as "When She Believes" or "My Beloved One" actually trivialize the song. On this disc they really enhance the emotion of the tunes.
As good as the first disc is its the second disc that really cooks. Opening with the fantasic Indian music influenced "Better Way" the disc is a perfect portrayal of the tension and suspicion of our times. "Better Way" is a classic tune of optimism and change the world philosophy.
The funk quotient is also quite high on this disc with the Hurricane Katrina inspired "Black Rain" and the title track. "Black Rain" is the kind of string driven funk you would expect from seventies soul greats Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye.
"Gather Round the Stone" is a prime example of blues-gospel fusion. Continuing with the blues theme is "The Way You Found Me." The tune has an excellent guitar solo and some nice jazzy piano work.
Closing the album out is for me the highlight. "Serve Your Soul" is an eight minute guitar driven epic. It is a song about maintaining your individuality in spite of societal pressures. This song rocks harder then any of Ben's previous works. Many times when Ben has played hard rock it has a tendency to sound like a parody, but this time Ben has all the weight of Zeppelin and Hendrix with the lyrical consciousness of Bob Marley.
This is sure to be one of if not the best things to released in 2006. Pick it up today and you won't be disappointed. You might also might want to pick up the newest album from Derek Trucks Band. nuff said

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Only Gets Better, March 21, 2006

By	The Gavs (Illinois) - See all my reviews

While I've yet to collect my thoughts enough to write a full review of this wonderful new album, I feel the need to say a few things based on first impressions. I purposely avoided hearing any tracks from" Both Sides of the Gun" until I bought the album because I strongly feel that you cannot judge an album by a song. While I realize that in today's i-pod world this might seem to be an anachronism, it's what I believe. Maybe even more so in the case of Ben Harper. On this album Ben shares with us more sides of his personality and emotions than he ever has on a single album. In his concerts this is what really makes for the wonderful Ben Harper experience, the ability to go from reflective, to sad to balls out anger in the span of a few songs. Ben does that here in many ways. The album is split into two halves, the quiet, almost folk inspired disc and the rocker side. But the conflicting emotions run true on both discs. The quiet side goes from reflection on beauty as in "Morning Yearning" to the wise "Cryin' won't Help You Now". In a similar fashion Ben does the same thing on the more electric rock disc, going from the societal anger of "Black Rain" and "Please Don't Talk About Murder When I'm Eating", to the Stones-like romp of "Engraved Invitation", but even on that song Ben manages to infuse arena rock with his own inestimable soul. Every inch of this album is a glimpse into the man Ben Harper is and the man he wants to be. In other words completely human.

Over my years of enjoying Ben Harper I have tried to put into thought and word what artists he reminds me of, but I often fail because of his unique voice. Yes I've heard people say just the opposite but in my opinion they're not listening. Today after listening to Both Sides Of The Gun I believe that the two artists I can compare him to the most are Bob Marley and Neil Young. The music of these men can span the same emotional spectrum that Ben does and, like Ben, you could never mistake their music for another artist. Beyond that the only artist that you can fairly compare Ben Harper to is Ben Harper himself and who would want it any other way?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Ben I know!, April 9, 2006

By	Francis F. Kilkenny "france_8" (Charlottesville, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Both Sides of the Gun (Audio CD)

Given that Diamonds on the Inside was an inconsistant album at best and There Will be a Light was essentially a gospel album (though a good one) Both Sides of the Gun is in some sense a return to roots for Harper. This album is also, in my opinion, Harper's most mature album to date. The musicianship and song-writing is consistantly excellent throughout, and is a firm declaration of a musician at the top of his game.

The album, of course, is broken into two discs that capture different moods (the third disc is a "bonus," see below). The first disc, "Morning Yearning" is full of slow and melancholy songs about love and lonliness. Although, a few of the songs on this disc drag a bit (especially if played alone) they all add to the mood, have excellent lyrics, and beautiful instrumentation. Harper sings well on all the songs, but in some ways I can't help comparing him to Bob Dylan, who wrote so many good songs that were sung better by others. Nevertheless, there are some real gems on this disc, including "Morning Yearning," with its wonderful atmosphere and "Cryin' Won't Help You Now," which soars with help from some solid backup vocals.

The second disc, "Better Way," to put it simply, ROCKS! The disk is full of hard rocking, funk tinged and blues inspired numbers that are so consistantly energetic that it's hard not to set this disc on constant repeat. The song, "Better Way" is the most original and addictive song that Harper has crafted in a long time. Several others deserve mention as well. "Black Rain" is a Katrina-inspired protest song that is very well done. "Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating," is catchy and fun all the while talking about some very serious matters. Lastly, "Serve Your Soul" evokes the true rock and roll trips of yore, and has some of the best guitar work on the album.

The third disc is a collection of accoustic versions of songs from the other two discs, plus a live version of Beloved One. These are nice to have, but they don't add a great deal of value to the of the special edition as a whole. The packaging for the three disc special edition is a bit nicer than the two-disc set alone, so it would make a nice gift. However, unless your set on owning every version of every Harper song out there the special edition set may not be worth your money.

Overall, this is a very fine album and well worth purchasing (even if you only get the two-disc set). It should please old fans and possibly bring in some new ones.