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Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals had been my favorite band for about 10 years; I've seen them live nine times. The first time I saw them in 2001 changed my life. I happened to catch the debut of Relentless 7 (Ben's new band) in Youngstown during the Get Out and Vote tour. Relentless 7's debut album didn't wow me at first, but it grew on me.
Now I'm trying to introduce Ben's music to a friend who doesn't know much about either band. I've put together what I call Ben's "essential mix," or a greatest hits, if you will. I leaned more toward the rock and less toward the folk because that's the mood I'm in. Also I stuck with studio recordings and stayed away from live tracks. I combined work from the Innocent Criminals and Relentless 7; it took nearly a week to whittle the length down to one CD.
For the Ben fans, what do you think? What tracks did I leave out that you would've included? What album is under-represented? How would you have ordered the tracks? I look forward to your feedback below.
1. The Three of Us
2. Oppression
3. Ground on Down
4. Faded
5. Keep it Together
6. Forgiven
7. Shimmer and Shine
8. Black Rain
9. Number with No Name
10. Please Bleed
11. Brown-Eyed Blues
12. With My Own Two Hands
13. Better Way
14. When it's Good
15. Show Me a Little Shame
16. Lay There and Hate Me
17. The Woman in You
18. Paris Sunrise #7
19. Lifeline
Thats a hard list to make. A lot of favorites left off. But that is a good introduction to a new fan.
ReplyDeleteWhen you do the essential folk mix, let me know. I don't think Ben is as good a rocker as he is folk. I miss the innocent criminals.
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