Burn to Shine is an album by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, released in 1999 on Virgin Records America. Harper's fourth album, it shows him working within many different genres, including blues, rock, soul, and folk. The songs "Steal My Kisses" and "Suzie Blue" became successful on college radio. Like most other Harper albums, different versions were released in different regions with varying bonus material.
Critical reception
The Washington Post wrote that "while the songs are seldom as interesting as the album's textured instrumental weave, Harper deserves credit for trying to break free of the cliches that have a stranglehold on the blues." Entertainment Weekly considered the album to be "mostly made up of leaden rootsy excursions." The Hartford Courant wrote that the album tackled "an overload of musical niches." Trouser Press called Harper "a thinking man's Lenny Kravitz".
Track listing All songs written by Ben Harper. "Alone" – 3:58 "The Woman in You" – 5:41 "Less" – 4:05 "Two Hands of a Prayer" – 7:50 "Please Bleed" – 4:37 "Suzie Blue" – 4:29 "Steal My Kisses" – 4:05 "Burn to Shine" – 3:34 "Show Me a Little Shame" – 3:44 "Forgiven" – 5:17 "Beloved One" – 4:03 "In the Lord's Arms" – 3:06
Personnel Musicians The Innocent Criminals Ben Harper – vocals, guitars Juan Nelson – bass Dean Butterworth – drums David Leach – percussion
Guest musicians Tyrone Downie – keyboards (2, 9) Eric Sarafin – harmonium (4), piano (11) The Real Time Jazz Band (6): Michael Fay – banjo Bruce Bishop – guitar David Firman – bass Jim Leigh – trombone Jim Bogen – clarinet Richard Barnes – washboard Nick Rich – human beatbox (7) Suzie Katayama – string arrangement, cello (11) Joel Derouin – first violin (11) Eve Butler – second violin (11) Matt Funes – viola (11) Jon Clarke – oboe, English horn (11) David Lindley – banjo, mandolin, fiddle (12)
Production Producer: J.P. Plunier Engineers: Eric Sarafin, Dan Steinberg Assistant engineer: Dan Steinberg Mixing: Eric Sarafin Mixing assistant: Steve Gamberoni, Geoff Walcha Mastering: Dave Collins Art direction: J.P. Plunier Design: Tom Dolan, Mike King, J.P. Plunier Photography: Annalisa Illustrations: Mike King Weissenborn research: Ben Elder
Charts +Chart performance for Burn to ShineChart (1999)Peakposition
Certifications
References