Welcome to the Cruel World

Welcome to the Cruel World
Studio album by Ben Harper
Released February 8, 1994
Recorded at The Convent
Genre Blues, folk, alternative rock
Length 50:25
Label Virgin
Producer Ben Harper, Jean-Pierre Plunier
Ben Harper chronology
Welcome to the Cruel World
(1994)		 Fight for Your Mind
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Rhapsody(favorable)[4]
The Village Voice[5]

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.

Track listing

All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted.

  1. "The Three of Us" – 2:35
  2. "Whipping Boy" (Chris Darrow) – 5:31
  3. "Breakin' Down" (Harper, music: Jean-Pierre Plunier) – 4:00
  4. "Don't Take That Attitude to Your Grave" – 4:25
  5. "Waiting on an Angel" – 3:53
  6. "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" – 2:29
  7. "Forever" – 3:23
  8. "Like a King" – 4:18
  9. "Pleasure and Pain" – 3:44
  10. "Walk Away" – 3:49
  11. "How Many Miles Must We March" – 3:07
  12. "Welcome to the Cruel World" – 5:36
  13. "I'll Rise" (lyrics: Maya Angelou; music: Harper) – 3:35

Personnel

Music credits
  • Ben Harper - vocals, multiple instruments
  • Clyde Allen - background vocals
  • Clarence Butler - background vocals
  • Richard Cook - Uillean pipes
  • Rock Deadrick - percussion, drums, background vocals
  • Tom Freund
  • 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
Production credits
  • Producers: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier
  • Associate producer: Jeff Gottlieb, Mikal Reid
  • Engineer: Mikal Reid
  • Assistant engineer: Bradley Cook
  • Mixing: Mikal Reid
  • Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
  • Advisor: Ben Elder
  • Art direction: Tom Dolan, J.P. Plunier
  • Research: Ben Elder
  • Photography: Jeff Gottlieb

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[6] 94
French Albums Chart[7] 11

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[8] Platinum 345,500 [9]*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Goble, Ryan Randall. "Welcome to the Cruel World - Ben Harper". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  2. ↑ Kot, Greg (1994-02-24). "Ben Harper Welcome to the Cruel World (Virgin)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  3. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 363. ISBN 9780743201698.
  4. ↑ "Welcome To The Cruel World". Rhapsody. 1994-02-08. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1995-02-21). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice.
  6. ↑ "Chartifacts". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Classements - Ben Harper - Welcome to the Cruel World (album)" (in French). Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  8. ↑ "French album certifications – Ben Harper – The WIll to Live" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  9. ↑ http://infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=1050
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.