Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
The problem with many retrospectives is that they usually place an artist's best-known and/or best-selling songs in a sequence that can defy context. The end result can be a rather jagged listening experience. Ben Harper's By My Side seems to address that issue by looking at it directly. Instead of simply letting his label choose a slew of tracks and call it a "hits" or "best-of" collection, Harper handpicked a dozen cuts, and focused on a particular aspect of his work: ballads. In addition to ten standard-bearers from his catalog, he also chose an alternate studio version of "Not Fire Not Ice," which sounds like a nicely recorded demo (and was never available in the United States before), and provided a single new cut, a sparse, sexy, soulful number called "Crazy Amazing" with his Relentless7 bandmates. The remaining tracks are canny choices: the vast majority of them would be the very cuts his fans would choose for such a collection. They span his entire career beginning with "Forever," from Welcome to the Cruel World. Also included from that recording is "Waiting on an Angel" near the end of this set. The two tracks chosen from Fight for Your Mind are the title track, of course, and "Gold to Me." The title track to Diamonds on the Inside is also here. Among the other selections are "Morning Yearning" from Lifeline (with the Innocent Criminals), "Beloved One" from Burn to Shine, and "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes" from Both Sides of the Gun. Taking in Harper's ballads without the rockist guitar pyrotechnics is solid not only in conception but in execution. While there's no doubt that fans have most of these tracks already, listening to By My Side's presentation of them as a resonant sampling of a particular area in the larger context of his work adds both depth and dimension to Harper's reputation, not only as a songwriter but as a singer as well.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Ben Harper, Composer, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mikal Reid, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rock Deadrick, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jean Pierre Plunier, Producer
℗ 1994 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Todd Burke, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bradley Cook, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jean Pierre Plunier, Producer - Bob (Stiv) Coke, Producer - Eric Sarafin, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1995 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Todd Burke, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bradley Cook, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jean Pierre Plunier, Producer - J P Plunier, Producer - Bob (Stiv) Coke, Producer - Eric Sarafin, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1995 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Virgin Records
Michael Ward, Composer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Oliver Charles, Composer, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Harper, Composer, Producer - Jason Yates, Composer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Leon Mobley, Composer, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Danny Kalb, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Juan Nelson, Composer, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Virgin Records America Inc.
Suzie Katayama, String Arranger, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Joel Derouin, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Harper, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - dave collins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jon Clarke, Oboe, English Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Eve Butler, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Matthew Funes, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Geoff Walcha, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jean Pierre Plunier, Producer - Eric Sarafin, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Dan Steinberg, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Gamberoni, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, MainArtist
℗ 1999 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1995 Virgin Records
Stephen Marcussen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ben Harper, Composer, Producer, Drums, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Vibraphone, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Laza, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alyssa Park, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Timothy Loo, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Danny Kalb, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Brett Banducci, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Matt Cory, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Patrick Rosalez, Violin, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 Virgin Records
Stephen Marcussen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ben Harper, Composer, Producer, Piano, Vibraphone, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Laza, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alyssa Park, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Timothy Loo, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Joel Pargman, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Danny Kalb, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Brett Banducci, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Matt Cory, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal)
℗ 2006 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mikal Reid, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jean Pierre Plunier, Producer
℗ 1994 Virgin Records
Ben Harper, Composer, Producer, MainArtist - Danny Kalb, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2012 Virgin Records
Album review
The problem with many retrospectives is that they usually place an artist's best-known and/or best-selling songs in a sequence that can defy context. The end result can be a rather jagged listening experience. Ben Harper's By My Side seems to address that issue by looking at it directly. Instead of simply letting his label choose a slew of tracks and call it a "hits" or "best-of" collection, Harper handpicked a dozen cuts, and focused on a particular aspect of his work: ballads. In addition to ten standard-bearers from his catalog, he also chose an alternate studio version of "Not Fire Not Ice," which sounds like a nicely recorded demo (and was never available in the United States before), and provided a single new cut, a sparse, sexy, soulful number called "Crazy Amazing" with his Relentless7 bandmates. The remaining tracks are canny choices: the vast majority of them would be the very cuts his fans would choose for such a collection. They span his entire career beginning with "Forever," from Welcome to the Cruel World. Also included from that recording is "Waiting on an Angel" near the end of this set. The two tracks chosen from Fight for Your Mind are the title track, of course, and "Gold to Me." The title track to Diamonds on the Inside is also here. Among the other selections are "Morning Yearning" from Lifeline (with the Innocent Criminals), "Beloved One" from Burn to Shine, and "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes" from Both Sides of the Gun. Taking in Harper's ballads without the rockist guitar pyrotechnics is solid not only in conception but in execution. While there's no doubt that fans have most of these tracks already, listening to By My Side's presentation of them as a resonant sampling of a particular area in the larger context of his work adds both depth and dimension to Harper's reputation, not only as a songwriter but as a singer as well.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:45:05
- Main artists: Ben Harper
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Virgin Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2012 Virgin Records This Compilation ℗ 2014 Virgin Records
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.
Playlists