Welcome to the Cruel World by Ben Harper

Welcome to the Cruel World

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Welcome to the Cruel World

Features

Audio CD (February 8, 1994)

Original Release Date: February 8, 1994

Number of Discs: 1

Label: Virgin Records

Catalog Number: 39320

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

Reader Reviews
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. Harper's 1994 album, "Welcome to the Cruel World", was a major success. This album covers introduces listeners to Harper's aucoustic, Instrument, lite rock, and more heavy rock styles. As with most of Harper's albums, he begins the album with his Instrumental style. The Three of Us, Harper's first track on the album combines all of the styles expressed within the album. The track begins soft rock and carries out in a more heavy rock tone. Other songs on the album like Walk Away and Forever are very similar in their soft rock nature. While How Many Miles Must We March and Welcome to the Cruel World show Harper's more hard rock style. Harper is very successful in all of his albums especially "Welcome to the Cruel World" in providing listeners with a very ecletic mix of sound on one album. This album serves as a model for his following albums, "The Will to Live" and "Diamonds on the Inside", in the style and order of the tracks on the album. Overall this ablum is a must for any Harper fan.

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