Both Sides of the Gun [Bonus Tracks] [Digipak]

Rating

Album: Both Sides of the Gun [Bonus Tracks] [Digipak]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Morning Yearning
2)	Waiting for You
3)	Picture in a Frame
4)	Never Leave Lonely Alone
5)	Sweet Nothing Serenade
6)	Reason to Mourn
7)	More Than Sorry
8)	Cryin' Won't Help You Now
9)	Happy Everafter in Your Eyes
10)	Gather 'Round the Stone - (live, Bonus Track, Live)
11)	Better Way
12)	Both Sides of the Gun
13)	Engraved Invitation
14)	Black Rain
15)	Gather 'Round the Stone
16)	Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating
17)	Get It Like You Like It
18)	Way You Found Me, The
19)	Serve Your Soul
20)	Get It Like You Like It - (live, Bonus Track, Live)

Album: Both Sides of the Gun [Bonus Tracks] [Digipak]
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Morning Yearning
2)	Waiting for You
3)	Picture in a Frame
4)	Never Leave Lonely Alone
5)	Sweet Nothing Serenade
6)	Reason to Mourn
7)	More Than Sorry
8)	Cryin' Won't Help You Now
9)	Happy Everafter in Your Eyes
10)	Gather 'Round the Stone - (live, Bonus Track, Live)
11)	Better Way
12)	Both Sides of the Gun
13)	Engraved Invitation
14)	Black Rain
15)	Gather 'Round the Stone
16)	Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating
17)	Get It Like You Like It
18)	Way You Found Me, The
19)	Serve Your Soul
20)	Get It Like You Like It - (live, Bonus Track, Live)

Performer Notes

Personnel: Ben Harper (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion); David Lindley (tamboura); Joel Pargman, Alyssa Park (violin); Brett Banducci (viola); Timothy Loo (cello); Greg Kurstin (Hammond b-3 organ); Jason Yates (keyboards); Matt Cory (bass instrument); Leon Mobley (percussion).
With the two-disc BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN, singer/songwriter Ben Harper appears hell-bent to play havoc with listeners' expectations. For those who thought blues-rock was a relic of the 1970s, abandoned to rot amid worn-out Foghat riffs, Harper presents a compelling argument to the contrary on the set's first disc. Instead of jacking up traditional blues forms in a clich‚d way, though, Harper applies a blues sensibility to the rock vocabulary, coming up with something that feels new in the process. The emotive howl of his vocals and the from-the-gut moans of his guitar bespeak a musician schooled in Zeppelin and Hendrix but ultimately closer to Jeff Buckley at his most frenetic. The raw, gritty production lends an appropriately in-your-face quality as well.
The second disc further messes with one's preconceptions. It's a quiet, acoustic-oriented affair wherein Harper seems to channel vintage Cat Stevens. In fact, there are spots where his singing sounds eerily similar to that of the British folk-rocker. Where the first disc's songs feel full of anger and social consciousness, the vulnerable ballads occupying the second are largely wistful and romantic, operating on a more personal scale. As different as they are, BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN are just as formidable in Harper's hands.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (pp.61-62) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Harper is a natural-born superstar who has operated in the pop universe his way....He is, for all his flash, just Ben, a gifted singer, songwriter and guitarist bent on seeking transcendence in everyday places."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] robust rockers and acoustic romancers...CD1 is full of rip and roar about the evils and moral ambiguities of the times."