Ben Harper – Diamonds on the Inside

Virgin Records

4 stars out of 5

Genre: Rock Folk

Next of Kin: Lucinda Williams, Ani Difranco

Through his first several albums, singer and guitarist Ben Harper was a glorious jumbled mess of all of his influences.

He mixed Jimi Hendrix guitar heroics, quiet folk songs, stomping blues tunes, moving love ballads, crushing Zeppelin-esque riffs and fiery social commentary. It didn’t matter how quickly he switched from hard rock to blues to reggae because every note was heartfelt and powerful.

On his fifth studio album, Diamonds on the Inside, Harper simplifies his sound. Gone are the long solos and most of the heavy riffs. Harper even yields lead guitar duty on many of the songs. The result is Harper’s most introspective and personal album

The emotional scope of the album is also more focused. With the exception of the roots reggae opener, ‘With My Own Two Hands,’ the lyrics of Diamonds on the Inside consist more of ruminations on love and religion than of activism.

Ben Harper’s back-up band, the Innocent Criminals, do an excellent job navigating through the diverse styles and moods that Harper’s songs demand. Still, the best songs that appear on Diamonds on the Inside are the ones where Harper abandons his band. On ‘Picture of Jesus,’ Harper sings over only the vocal layers of African ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo and on ‘She’s Only Happy In the Sun,’ Harper plays the guitar, bass and drums all by himself.

These two songs are some of the most emotional and powerful pieces Harper has ever recorded, which is saying a lot for an artist who’s developed a reputation for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Published on March 17, 2003 at 12:00 pm