Ripped from original CD with Exact Audio Copy.
Art & Rip log included. All tracks are Properly tagged with art embedded in tag.


Ben Harper

1994 - Welcome To The Cruel World [mp3@320]




Ben Harper


Ben Harper playing the weissenborn
in Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario 2008

Wikipedia:
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances, and activism. He has released twelve regular studio albums, mostly through Virgin Records and has toured internationally. Harper is a three-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, in 2005. He also won a Grammy for Best Blues Album in 2014.


Welcome To The Cruel World



Artist: Ben Harper
Title: Welcome To The Cruel World
Producers: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier
Release Date: February 8, 1994
Label: Virgin Records
Catalog: 7243 8 39320 2 3
ASIN: B000000W4U
Genre: Folk Rock, Alternative Rock, Blues, Blues Rock, Soul
Duration: 53:20

Wikipedia:
Welcome to the Cruel World is Ben Harper's debut album from Virgin Records. Released in 1994, the album established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area. After this release, Harper went on to add a permanent backing band, the Innocent Criminals, although they remained unnamed until the Burn to Shine album.

AllMusic Review by Ryan Randall Goble:
The full range of Ben Harper's influences would not come to bear until later albums, but his debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, lays a strong foundation. "Like a King" and "Take That Attitude to Your Grave" burn with a political conviction rarely heard during the 1990s. "Forever" has a tenderness which demonstrates Harper's emotional range. Lackluster hippie jams that cultivated his early following may have served a purpose but feel fluffy by comparison when compared to the meatier tracks. Ben closes the album with a song that frequently closes his concerts, "I'll Rise." This song, built around Maya Angelou's 1979 poem "And Still I Rise," reminds one of art's ability to pierce through society, self, and the soul.




01. The Three of Us (2:35)
02. Whipping Boy (5:31)
03. Breakin' Down (4:01)
04. Don't Take That Attitude to Your Grave (4:26)
05. Waiting on an Angel (3:54)
06. Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now (2:29)
07. Forever (3:24)
08. Like a King (4:18)
09. Pleasure and Pain (3:47)
10. Walk Away (3:49)
11. How Many Miles Must We March (3:09)
12. Welcome to the Cruel World (5:37)
13. I'll Rise (6:19)


Personnel:

Ben Harper - vocals, multiple instruments
Clyde Allen - background vocals
Clarence Butler - background vocals
Richard Cook - Uillean pipes
Rock Deadrick - percussion, drums, background vocals
Clabe Hangan - background vocals
Jelani Jones - background vocals
Suzie Katayama - cello
Ken McDaniel - background vocals
John McKnight - bass, accordion
John Taylor - background vocals
Kevin Williams - background vocals
Tommy D. Daugherty - drum programming



Note:
This is not my rip.
My thanks to the original uploader (whoever that may be).










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