Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You only buy one "Ben Harper" album.......(buy This!!), January 27, 2005
For an artist such as Ben Harper, who's reflective blend of acoustic soul & organic stripped down blues and R&B, coupled with his emotional singer/songwriter approach gave his debut album "Welcome to the Cruel World" a great starting point, for those tired of music lacking any intellectual content. But it was this, his fiery politicised second album "Fight for your mind", that he was to truly make his mark on the musical landscape.
This is a intimate and deeply introspective record, that not only looks inwards, but frequently looks at the world from the perspective of a enraged musical poet (Harper's influences such as: Dylan, Hendrix, Bob Marley, are clear to see). Because for a track like "Another Lonely Day" which is largely minimal in its instrumentation, and relies mostly on Ben's soul-folk singing to carry the emotional impact of this song, (think stripped back folk, with some lovely slide guitar), it went some way to prove that Ben wanted people to hear what he had to say, rather than just purely focus on the music.
"Burn one Down" which is actually a Pro-weed song, with Harper brazenly declaring ""if you don't like my fire, then don't come around, yes I'm gonna burn one down.", shows that Ben like the protest songs of someone like Dylan, many years before him for instance, hasn't shy-ed away from controversial subject matters.
"Ground on Down" is unquestionably my favourite track, Ben hooks up the electric guitar for a occasionally feedback drenched throwdown, that has more place on a rock album, such is its explosive energy, with Harper assuming the lyrical stance of a righteous commentator over the energetic guitar that is probably the nearest he's come to sounding like an infuriated Jimi Hendrix, in this insistent, almost slightly aggressive rock-out.
There is an undeniable sense of Harper wanting to get a lot of his chest, as quite of few of the songs deal with social/racial injustice to some degree, as "Fight For your Mind" & "Oppression" immediately spring to mind, with unsettling guitar tones which range from poignant one minute, to curiously uplifting the next. Although none of this would mean anything without some inspired writing by Harper, that easily surpasses his debut in structure and musical dynamics. In fact Ben would never truly match (much less surpass what was achieved here), this level of articulation and poetic lyrical content, although with impressively strong musical arrangements.
If your looking for a Ben Harper Cd, and your not interested in collecting his albums, then without doubt Its widely known that this was his most significant effort on the album market, and although his other albums are certainly worth a look if you like his music. The combination of righteous finger pointing, consice lyrics and, cerebral blues-folk would never quite have the same bite, as this, his finest album.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HIS BEST !!, March 28, 2002
I keep thinking this is Ben Harper's best cd. It's a blend of soul and great songs. This cd will take you for a ride of songs that are different from each other and that bear Ben's soul in them. I have realized that what makes Ben Harper's music so special is the amount of pleasure you can feel he put in writing and singing his songs. It's all there. This is one of my collection's best. Highly, really, highly recommended.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the one I hand out., December 27, 2004
I have all of Ben Harper's records, and I'm eager to share his music with my friends. When I do, this is the album I buy for them. It shows what Ben's capable of, the styles he is able to transcend, his musicianship, his lyricist capabilities, his passion for God. And there's not a weak song on the album. This is not to say that Ben has gone downhill since this album. It's just a perfect, eclectic blend of Ben. If you want to share his music with a friend, start them out here. If you yourself are looking to see what Ben Harper is capable of, this is it.
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