Ben Harper
Diamonds On The Inside

THE REVIEW

When I burned this CD back in September (editor's note: it's illegal by law and de-baser.com distances itself from what the reviewer stated and declines any responsibility), I didn't know a single song by Ben Harper, but I did it just for “Diamonds On The Inside.” It was too beautiful, and with that summery video! It reminded me of good moments. However, inserting the CD into the player wasn't an emotion. I thought, “Who is this?…Bob Marley?…Lenny Kravitz?” and so on. I regretted wasting a useful blank CD for this almost mediocre work. A few days ago, my eye fell on this CD, I played it and abracadabra…what a beautiful album!! Where were you hidden from September until now? Among the disposable CDs?! Between “By The Way” and “Audioslave”?! Forgive me, dear Sony CD (it's burned), I made a grave mistake! I regretted it again and placed it among the CDs that deserve recognition!! The first single, “With My Own Two Hands,” is real reggae that even dear old Bob would like!

Ben Harper handles various styles with ease. He sings an entire song (!) with an a cappella choir (“Picture Of Jesus”). He gives guitar lessons in all the tracks with great solos! (Wow, does he play well! Way better than Lenny Kravitz)! And he manages to make me emotional (the only ones who had managed before were Oasis with “Champagne Supernova”) with a tear-jerker of a track (“When She Believes”), which remains my all-time favorite on the CD!
There are also “Fuckin rock and roll” moments like “So High So Low,” which starts with an innocent acoustic guitar that arpeggiates for 15 seconds before giving way to a powerful scream that kicks off the dances! There are pop rock tracks (“Diamonds On The Inside”), afro ballads (“Blessed To Be A Witness”), and pseudo country (“When It's Good”). There's even funk in “Bring The Funk.” He borrows “The Drugs Don’t Work” by The Verve (ouch!), reworks it, and turns it into a moving track (if only it were the only one!) that closes an album that has been too underrated…by me! Forgive me!