Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
98 used & new from $1.99

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Available to Download Now
 
Buy the MP3 album for $9.49
 
 
 
 
Welcome to the Cruel World
 
See larger image
 

Welcome to the Cruel World

Ben Harper & Relentless7, Ben Harper
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews) More about this product

List Price: $11.98
Price: $11.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, July 7? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
57 new from $5.16 41 used from $1.99
Buy the MP3 album for $9.49 at the Amazon MP3 Downloads store.

  Artist New Releases
Artist New Releases
Find all the music by Ben Harper & Relentless7 or Ben Harper. The history. Photos. Discussions. Where a fan can be a fan.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Get $1 worth of MP3 downloads from Amazon MP3 after you order your item. Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Purchase this CD and get 12 issues of Rolling Stone for only $2.95. that's less than $0.25 an issue. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Welcome to the Cruel World + Fight for Your Mind + The Will to Live
Price For All Three: $34.92

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Welcome to the Cruel World ~ Ben Harper & Relentless7

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Fight for Your Mind ~ Ben Harper

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Will to Live ~ Ben Harper

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Will to Live

The Will to Live

~ Ben Harper
4.9 out of 5 stars (40)  $9.97
Burn to Shine

Burn to Shine

~ Ben Harper & Relentless7
4.5 out of 5 stars (126)  $10.99
Diamonds on the Inside

Diamonds on the Inside

~ Ben Harper & Relentless7
3.6 out of 5 stars (133)  $17.98
Lifeline

Lifeline

~ Ben Harper & Relentless7
4.5 out of 5 stars (38)  $14.99
Live from Mars

Live from Mars

~ Ben Harper
4.6 out of 5 stars (84)  $20.99
Explore similar items

Product Details

  • Audio CD (February 8, 1994)
  • Original Release Date: February 8, 1994
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Virgin Records Us
  • ASIN: B000000W4U
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,458 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #86 in  Music > Alternative Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Listen to Samples

To hear a song sample, click on "Listen" by that sample. Visit our audio help page for more information.
 
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

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ben Harper sounds good on paper. He's a 24-year-old Californian devoted to vintage acoustic guitars, original political songs and the unusual blend of calypso and Mississippi Delta blues--an inspired blend of David Lindley, Tracy Chapman, and Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, Harper's execution of this original conception on his debut album, "Welcome to the Cruel World," is distinctly underwhelming.

Harper's singing is the biggest problem. He mumbles his vocals with so little articulation and within such a narrow range that he makes Bob Dylan sound like Al Green by comparison. Moreover, Harper's overall performance is so low in energy that he makes the laid-back Cowboy Junkies sound like the Sex Pistols. His songwriting and guitar picking reveals hints of a modest talent, but they aren't nearly special enough to compensate for the narcotic effect of his singing. The heavy-handed Rodney King song, the adaptation of a Maya Angelou poem and the broken-hearted love songs are more likely to recall Chapman's disappointing second album rather than her exhilarating first. --Geoffrey Himes

Product Description

Ben Harper Photos
   
   

More from Ben Harper

Fight for Your Mind

Diamonds on the Inside

Both Sides of the Gun

Live From Mars

The Will to Live

Live at the Hollywood Bowl


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

 

Customer Reviews

65 Reviews
5 star:
 (44)
4 star:
 (16)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (65 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, February 4, 2000
By Music Lover (Australia) - See all my reviews
Let me start by mentioning Geoffrey Himes, the Amazon editorial reviewer: how does one so full of his self-importance get to be a reviewer? I thought a review should be an objective look at what is on the CD, but Himes chooses to use the review as a vehicle for his own ego. Go back and have another listen to this CD, Geoffrey; this time without any preconcieved ideas or biases.

What will be heard then is a CD that is moving, thought provoking, inspirational, and brimming with talent. Himes says that Harper has modest talent. If Ben Harper is posessed with modest talent, then that leaves a great many other musicians in the unskilled bracket! I find that Harper's voice is very unusual and with great range (trying singing along Geoffrey!) and his guitar playing is brilliant without being flashy...kind of heart-felt. And the rest of his band make this CD groove on the accompanied tracks.

You must listen to this album. It is breathtaking.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Debut From An Underrated Artist, December 19, 2001
By A Customer
I picked up this album after buying the other three by Ben Harper and greatly enjoying what I found on each of them. I can't believe why I didn't make Welcome to the Cruel World my FIRST Ben Harper purchase! If one had all four of his albums and played them in chronological order, the musical progression could clearly be mapped out from the stripped-down acoustic setting found on his debut to the varied styles and textures contained on his current studio release.

Anyway,Welcome to the Cruel World introduces the listener to the honest, soulful songwriting that has since become a trademark of Harper's craft. Some of the songs are uncompromisingly political (Like A King, How Many Miles Must We March), some are deeply introspective and personal (Pleasure and Pain, Walk Away, the title track), some display a tasteful, mature outlook on love (Waiting On An Angel, Forever) and even some songs showcase a lighter, more playful side (Breakin' Down, Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now).

The musicianship on this album is first-rate. Harper's guitar playing, especially his slide work, is truly inspiring. The backing musicians complement him nicely without overwhelming the feel of the songs. Overall, Welcome to the Cruel World should be the album to get for the uninitiated. For those who only know Ben Harper from his "Faded" and "Steal My Kisses" singles that were occaisonally shown on MTV2 will find him to be one of the best kept musical secrets of the 90's.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Geoffrey Himes , August 5, 2004
Geoffrey Himes is quite obviously an idiot. There are probably hilarious, idiotic reviews like this one that can be found for almost every great artist/band, whereby a near-sighted, close-minded music hack has decided that the artist/band in question wont make it. Hilarious and idiotic because of how wrong they are.
Great album, man.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars ben harper
well...hmm.. i only got this cd because of "forever" for my girlfriend. i myself am a ben harper fan. only a handful of good songs out of 14. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Andrey Leon

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good 5/ out of 5 stars
Very Good and enjoyed listening to Welcome to the Cruel World by Ben Harper but unfortunate when I first rated it I accidently confused it with another CD by Ben Harper so... Read more
Published on May 12, 2007 by Lou Scrobogna

5.0 out of 5 stars Great songs!
Harper offers a great interpretation of Maya Angelou's I'll Rise poem. Also, you'll find "Waiting On An Angel" on the album. Read more
Published on September 27, 2006 by D. Watkins

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Ben Harper...
Couple of great tracks a couple hokey tracks. Great lyrics and nice melodic rhythms. Overall a good album to own.
Published on January 31, 2006 by Erika L. Worobec

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Harper rocks!!
Ben Harper combines a wide variety of music styles in order to produce his various albums. Each of his albums combine aspects of jazz, rock, and folk. Read more
Published on October 18, 2005 by Laura K

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a social statement!!!
"Whipping Boy" ... "Dont' Take That Attitude To Your Grave" ... "How Many Miles Must We March" ... "I'll Rise" :
Just these four songs make the CD worth having. Read more
Published on October 17, 2005 by GuitarJ56

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazon reviewers obviously have no clue
This might not be one of Ben's best albums, but it is still a great album. It is quite surprising that Geoff Himes, the amazon reviewer, gives this album such a poor wrap. Read more
Published on May 25, 2005 by RayRay's Empire

4.0 out of 5 stars Ben is here
To all of you ignorants that have given this album negative reviews...

Please realise ben's depth of styles and the way he implements his own view of the world. Read more

Published on March 30, 2004 by Roberto

4.0 out of 5 stars an exceptional debut album
I can't agree w/the negative reviews of this album (including the one Amazon.com editorial reviewer, Geoffrey Hines, put forward). Read more
Published on February 25, 2004 by Guinevere

1.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to a Dull Album
This is, without a doubt, one of the most boring, empty and souless records I have ever heard. Ben Harper is an artist capable of decent and interesting compositions, but this... Read more
Published on February 14, 2004 by gonn1000

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   


SoundUnwound Says...

Welcome to the Cruel World opens new browser window by Ben Harper opens new browser window is mainly Singer-Songwriter, quite Rock, with hints of Soft Rock”

Disagree? Cast your vote now! opens new browser window

Share your knowledge and explore the rest of the music world at SoundUnwound.com opens new browser window

SoundUnwound Logo

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Welcome to the Cruel World
63% buy the item featured on this page:
Welcome to the Cruel World 4.5 out of 5 stars (65)
$11.98
Fight for Your Mind
10% buy
Fight for Your Mind 4.7 out of 5 stars (86)
$12.97
White Lies For Dark Times
9% buy
White Lies For Dark Times 4.5 out of 5 stars (17)
$14.49
Live from Mars
9% buy
Live from Mars 4.6 out of 5 stars (84)
$20.99



Look for Similar Items by Category


Music You Should Hear™: Artists' Picks

Music You Should Hear
Want to know what Norah Jones, Sting, and Il Divo are listening to? Find out in Music You Should Hear™, where these and other artists tell you about the music they love.
 

Sand It Down

Shop for sanders
Sanders are useful when preparing surfaces for painting and when making or repairing furniture.

Shop for sanders

 
Music Essentials
Greats from the Greatest Explore our Music Essentials Store and find music from over 500 essential artists and composers, watch videos, and vote for the most essential artist.
 
Read Our Blog
For more about music, check out ChordStrike, a minor blog for major music lovers™.
 

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
Darkfever
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates