Welcome to the Cruel World is the debut album by the American musician Ben Harper, released in 1994 through Virgin Records. The album established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area. After the release, Harper went on to add a permanent backing band, the Innocent Criminals, although they remained unnamed until the Burn to Shine album. The song "I'll Rise" is based on a 1978 Maya Angelou poem "And Still I Rise".
Critical reception
The Indianapolis Star wrote that "Harper impresses with his play of guitar and dobro, but it's his mastery of the Weissenborn ... and his vocal nuances that persuade the listener to heed these vignettes of cold truth, the essence of blues."
Track listing All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted. "The Three of Us" – 2:35 "Whipping Boy" (Chris Darrow) – 5:31 "Breakin' Down" (Harper, music: Jean-Pierre Plunier) – 4:00 "Don't Take That Attitude to Your Grave" – 4:25 "Waiting on an Angel" – 3:53 "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" – 2:29 "Forever" – 3:23 "Like a King" – 4:18 "Pleasure and Pain" – 3:44 "Walk Away" – 3:49 "How Many Miles Must We March" – 3:07 "Welcome to the Cruel World" – 5:36 "I'll Rise" (lyrics: Maya Angelou; music: Harper) – 3:35 Contains the hidden track "...By and By I'm Going to See the King" (Blind Willie Johnson) – 0:30 "Remember" (unreleased version; bonus track) – 2:49
Personnel Musicians Ben Harper – vocals, acoustic guitar, Weissenborn guitar, dobro Richard Cook – Uilleann pipes on "Pleasure and Pain" Rock Deadrick – percussion, drums, backing vocals Tom Freund Suzie Katayama – cello on "Pleasure and Pain" John McKnight – bass guitar, accordion on "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" Tommy D. Daugherty – drum programming Gail Deadrick – piano on "I'll Rise" Clabe Hangan, Clarence Butler, John Taylor, Kenneth McDaniel, Clyde Allen, Jelanie Jones, Kevin Williams – backing vocals
Production 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 performance for Welcome to the Cruel WorldChart (1998)PeakpositionAustralian Albums Chart94French Albums Chart11
Certifications
References