Friday, 17 Apr 2009
I’ve nursed a heavy serving of Ben Harper records through the years. Last month, in Austin, I sat in on taping of a forthcoming Austin City Limits Ben Harper & Relentless 7 appearance. The new material finds Harper backed by a smaller band than on previous records, he’s cut away some of the excess and made a straight up rock and roll record.
Next month Ben Harper + Relentless 7 will release White Lies For Dark Times on May 5th with a full set of tour dates to follow. When we got word of a vinyl giveaway we jumped at the chance to offer it up to you guys.
MoB Vinyl Giveaway: Up for grabs is a 10″ of “Shimmer & Shine” (Side A) and “Spanish Red Wine” (Side B), and a super-rare, promo only, 7″ with “The World Suicide” (Side A) and “Eldorado” (Side B). Drop a comment telling us your favorite Ben Harper album, song, or lyric and we’ll notify two winners by e-mail and send them one of each vinyl above.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:45 am
I’ve enjoyed a lot of Ben Harper throughout the years, too. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be “Live from Mars”. As far as straight up studio albums though, I’m picking “Diamonds on the Inside”.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:53 am
My favorite album is definitely Burn to Shine, with my fav track being Less. The slide on that track is ridiculous!
April 17th, 2009 at 7:57 am
burn to shine is by far my favorite album by ben, but both sides of the gun disc 2 has my favorite songs by him (black rain, serve your soul). i think you’ve just inspired me to go back and listen to both of these albums, it’s been waaaaaay too long.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I know its kind of a cop out but I love the live Disc Live from Mars, it captures the raw power Ben has and the intensity of his shows
April 17th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Not necessarily my favorite song, but my favorite title of any song. “Please don’t talk about murder while I’m eating.” How much better can it be?
April 17th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I’m going to have to go with the song, “Ground on Down” as it’s done on the Tibetan Freedom Concert CD circa 1997. That was the song that really drove me to listening to Ben Harper and I’ve been in deep ever since.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I’m going with ” Faded” from the “The Will to Live”- first song I ever heard from Ben and the guitar and vocals are amazing on this song.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I’ll echo the above LTM praise–
and I’ll go with that version of “Woman in You”
April 17th, 2009 at 10:36 am
For favorite album, I go back and forth between Fight For Your Mind and Welcome to the Cruel World, with The Will to LIve close behind. My favorite song is probably “Amen Omen”, the version that appears on the Hollywood Bowl EP. I love the passion that he performs it with.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I can’t wait to catch harper live again and hear his new work with Relentless7. It’s sounding great so far.
favorite song- forever or walk away. lyric- “when your whole world is shaken, from all the risks we have taken, Dance with me, dance with me into the colors of the dusk” album- welcome to the cruel world.
seeing him live at the gorge in WA is definitely on my list of favorite live shows.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Welcome to the Cruel World remains my favorite album with Walk Away being the signature track for me………….
They say time will make all this go away,
but it’s time that has taken my tomorrows and turned them into yesterdays.
And once again that rising sun is droppin’ on down
And once again, you my friend, are nowhere to be found.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I saw Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Barrymore in late 1996 or early 1997 (dates are a bit hazy) while supporting “Fight for your Mind”. The concert was spectacular and the encore blew me away. The song Mr. Harper sang remains my favorite to this day.
For the encore, Ben Harper came on stage unaccompanied by any of his band mates and performed “I’ll Rise”. No instruments, no microphone and no crowd chatter – the place was silent as Mr. Harper stood in the middle of the stage with his head down and his fist raised throughout the entire song.
An encore and song I’ll never forget.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Steve – I was at that show too (1997), my first time seeing Ben. I was hooked after that.
April 17th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Never said thank you
Never said please
Never gave reason to believe
So as it stands
I remain on my knees
Good lovers make great enemies….
Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that youve done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb, I am numb, I am numb
I don’t know what it is about this song but it creates a certain pain in the pit of my stomach. A true blessing when a song and lyrics can move to the point of feeling discomfort for the person performing.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:07 am
I was visiting Baltimore with my wife for a conference. While waiting for my wife I decided to check out the music section at a near by Barnes and Noble. I check out a cd soundtrack for the movie I Am Sam. I was Floored by his rendition Of Strawberry Fields Forever. It introduced me to a world I never came out. Diamonds On the Inside was my next purchase. Then I found Ben Harper.net, which the fans where willing to guide me further. For that I am grateful.
April 18th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Reading some of these reviews, I can only wish I would’ve seen him back when he was sitting the whole time in concert, was the only guitarist in the band, and rocking out insturmentally and vocally, prior to building his music to be compared to Jack Johnson.
I guess it’s cool that he’s playing a bit more slide (although his signature Weisenborn sound is still lost out there somewhere) and getting a more stripped down, raw sound, but I’m not feeling what I’ve heard so far from the R7.
I guess I’m past my ‘Ben Harper’ phase, and will be until he starts getting back to his own sound- not to be confused with wishing he’d keep putting the same stuff out there, just putting out a sound that isn’t simply jumping genres…
April 19th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Burn One Down hands down. It was the first song I learned to play on the guitar.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Nick- You’re past your Ben Harper phase! Phase? OK! Now I understand………
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
By far my favorite is Glory & Consequence. I love that song.
May 1st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Album: Fight for your mind
Song: God Fearing Man
Lyric: Honestly I can’t pick just one.