Ben Harper – Welcome To The Cruel World (1994/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Ben Harper – Welcome To The Cruel World (1994/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 50:40 minutes | 2,01 GB | Genre: Rock, Blues, Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Virgin Catalog (V81)

“Welcome To The Cruel World” introduced Ben Harper, his voice, his songs and his trademark Weissenborn guitar, kicking off a long, acclaimed and multifaceted career. The songs are mainly acoustic and folk-tinged, a sound Harper would return to over the years. An impressive, thoroughly enjoyable first effort.

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.

Tracklist:

01. Ben Harper – The Three Of Us (02:38)
02. Ben Harper – Whipping Boy (05:32)
03. Ben Harper – Breakin’ Down (04:01)
04. Ben Harper – Don’t Take That Attitude To Your Grave (04:26)
05. Ben Harper – Waiting On An Angel (03:52)
06. Ben Harper – Mama’s Got A Girlfriend Now (02:29)
07. Ben Harper – Forever (03:23)
08. Ben Harper – Like A King (04:19)
09. Ben Harper – Pleasure And Pain (03:46)
10. Ben Harper – Walk Away (03:49)
11. Ben Harper – How Many Miles Must We March (03:08)
12. Ben Harper – Welcome To The Cruel World (05:35)
13. Ben Harper – I’ll Rise (03:36)

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