For an artist such as Ben Harper, who's reflective blend of acoustic soul & organic stripped down blues and R&B, coupled with his emotional singer/songwriter approach gave his debut album "Welcome to the Cruel World" a great starting point, for those tired of music lacking any intellectual content. But it was this, his fiery politicised second album "Fight for your mind", that he was to truly make his mark on the musical landscape.

This is a intimate and deeply introspective record, that not only looks inwards, but frequently looks at the world from the perspective of a enraged musical poet (Harper's influences such as: Dylan, Hendrix, Bob Marley, are clear to see). Because for a track like "Another Lonely Day" which is largely minimal in its instrumentation, and relies mostly on Ben's soul-folk singing to carry the emotional impact of this song, (think stripped back folk, with some lovely slide guitar), it went some way to prove that Ben wanted people to hear what he had to say, rather than just purely focus on the music.

"Burn one Down" which is actually a Pro-weed song, with Harper brazenly declaring ""if you don't like my fire, then don't come around, yes I'm gonna burn one down.", shows that Ben like the protest songs of someone like Dylan, many years before him for instance, hasn't shy-ed away from controversial subject matters.

"Ground on Down" is unquestionably my favourite track, Ben hooks up the electric guitar for a occasionally feedback drenched throwdown, that has more place on a rock album, such is its explosive energy, with Harper assuming the lyrical stance of a righteous commentator over the energetic guitar that is probably the nearest he's come to sounding like an infuriated Jimi Hendrix, in this insistent, almost slightly aggressive rock-out.

There is an undeniable sense of Harper wanting to get a lot of his chest, as quite of few of the songs deal with social/racial injustice to some degree, as "Fight For your Mind" & "Oppression" immediately spring to mind, with unsettling guitar tones which range from poignant one minute, to curiously uplifting the next. Although none of this would mean anything without some inspired writing by Harper, that easily surpasses his debut in structure and musical dynamics. In fact Ben would never truly match (much less surpass what was achieved here), this level of articulation and poetic lyrical content, although with impressively strong musical arrangements.

If your looking for a Ben Harper Cd, and your not interested in collecting his albums, then without doubt Its widely known that this was his most significant effort on the album market, and although his other albums are certainly worth a look if you like his music. The combination of righteous finger pointing, consice lyrics and, cerebral blues-folk would never quite have the same bite, as this, his finest album.

I have all of Ben Harper's records, and I'm eager to share his music with my friends. When I do, this is the album I buy for them. It shows what Ben's capable of, the styles he is able to transcend, his musicianship, his lyricist capabilities, his passion for God. And there's not a weak song on the album. This is not to say that Ben has gone downhill since this album. It's just a perfect, eclectic blend of Ben. If you want to share his music with a friend, start them out here. If you yourself are looking to see what Ben Harper is capable of, this is it.

'Music is led to your emotions' says Ben Harper. Damn right it is. This album presents in a heartfely, basic style, Ben Harpers outpourings on themes such as marajuana, global injustice, oppression, loneliness and spiritualism.

Fight For Your Mind is Harper's second album and he stretches his repertoire with original vocals (screeching and out of register low notes- actually quite effective), blending the electronic with his staple acoustic guitar chords and including some long instrumental sections in the 12 minute epic 'God Fearing Man'.

Generally, Harper's roots based, chilled rock rhythms and simple, idealistic lyrics make for relaxed listening - songs such as the marajuana homily 'Burn one Down' and the open letter to all those who exploit, abuse, pollute and destroy 'Excuse me Mr' are among the most basic but best on the album. At other times the easy going jam atmosphere fails to impact as well as it might - personally, I find the twangy guitaur instrunental on 'God Fearing Man' a bit wearisome after ten minutes or so and some songs almost descend into bed wetting self pity - 'Another Lonely Day' perhaps is guilty of this.

Overall though, Fight For Your Mind is a thoughtful, well produced album that showcases Ben Harper's emotions, up front and laid bare. And I applaud him for that honesty.

I just can't get Ben Harper sometimes. I want to be a huge fan of his, because I admire his approach to music and think he has a great band. Some of his songs (Excuse Me Mr., Ground on Down) would justify my being that. However, too often he writes songs with inadequate lyrics and poor arrangements. This would not be so bad if the music he made didn't seem to be, at times, imitations of masters like bob dylan, bob marley, jimi hendrix, and led zeppelin. Harper's music pales in comparison to that made by these giants.
For instance, lines like "oh no, not another excuse/your tired silly games for me are just no use" on "please please me" sound like he's stretching just to make something coherent that rhymes.
And then there's the classic chorus, "by my side by my side/won't you be by my side/by my side by my side/won't you be by my side." I mean, that's just terrible. But then, from god knows where, he comes up with something brilliant like, "life is short/and if your lookin' for extension/with your time you had best do well/cause there's good deeds and there is good intention/they're as far apart as heaven and hell." in "Ground on Down." It's the same with the musical arrangements. "Please, please me" sounds like a small variation of something i've heard in 10,000 different songs. The "chill" arrangement puts me to sleep instead of the desired effect. Excuse Me Mr., though also utilizing very common chords, sounds like something fresh and inventive. I can't really explain the difference, but i know it's there.
Basically, Ben Harper is a pretty talented musician with inconsisent lyrical aptitude. In any other genre he would be an unquestionable star. However, in roots-based rock, with music from so many greats, the bar is set a bit higher. I don't think Ben Harper is quite good enough of a songwriter or arranger to come close to measuring up to the idols he emulates.

Along with U2's "Achtung Baby" and Chris Whitley's "Living with the Law", this CD rates as one of the best of the past decade. Harper seamlessly mixes a number of influences (Rock, R&B, Country, Gospel, Reggae, even Classical), adds his own lyrical and instrumental flair, backs it up with an unbelievably tight ensemble of musicians and delivers a album without a weakness. Each song is as unique and memorable as the next, but all defy simple classification. This is by far his best work. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.