Fight for Your Mind
| Fight for Your Mind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Ben Harper | ||||
| Released | August 1, 1995 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 68:05 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier, Bob "Stiv" Coke | |||
| Ben Harper chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+)[2] |
| Rhapsody | (favorable)[3] |
| Yahoo! Music | (favorable)[4] |
Fight for Your Mind is an album by Ben Harper. Released in August 1995, it was his last solo album before adding the Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from folk ("Another Lonely Day"), folk rock ("Gold to Me"), Black Sabbath-style riffing heavy metal ("Ground on Down") and politically charged reggae ("Excuse Me Mr.").
After Harper's well-received debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, he expanded on his fanbase by touring relentlessly with jam bands like Dave Matthews Band. On this, his second album, Harper added a more refined sense of his own intense spirituality, such as on the gospel-influenced album closers, "Power of the Gospel", "God Fearing Man" and "One Road to Freedom".
Track listing
All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted.
- "Oppression" 2:58
- "Ground on Down" – 4:53
- "Another Lonely Day" – 3:43
- "Please Me Like You Want To" – 4:55
- "Gold to Me" – 5:00
- "Burn One Down" – 3:31
- "Excuse Me Mr." (Harper, Plunier) – 5:24
- "People Lead" – 4:13
- "Fight for Your Mind" – 4:06
- "Give a Man a Home" – 3:35
- "By My Side" – 3:34
- "Power of the Gospel" – 6:02
- "God Fearing Man" – 11:49
- "One Road to Freedom" – 4:14
Artwork
The Fight For Your Mind cover features Harper's face on fire, as the artwork features the use of military roundels from African nations (plus Jamaica) to represent each track on the album. The track corresponding to each roundel is:
- Angola - Oppression
African Military roundels (plus Jamaica's) in the Fight For Your Mind artwork - Cameroon - Ground on Down
- Central African Republic - Another Lonely Day
- Chad - Please Me Like You Want To
- Uganda - Gold to Me
- Jamaica - Burn One Down
- Egypt - Excuse Me Mr
- Niger - People Lead
- Ghana/Guinea - Fight For Your Mind
- Kenya - Give a Man a Home
- Nigeria - By My Side
- Somalia - Power of the Gospel
- Ivory Coast - God Fearing Man
- Ethiopia - One Road to Freedom
Harper has continued to use roundel inspired artwork on his other albums.
Certifications
| Chart | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Platinum[5] | 100 000 |
Personnel
- Ben Harper - acoustic guitar, Vocals, weissenborn
- Brett Banduci - viola
- Danielle Charles - violin
- Oliver Charles - drums
- Bob "Stiv" Coke - tabla, tambourine, tamboura, sarod
- Timothy Loo - cello
- Leon Mobley - percussion
- Juan Nelson - bass
- Ervin Pope - organ, Hammond organ
Production
- Producers: Ben Harper, Bob "Stiv" Coke, J.P. Plunier
- Associate Producer: Jeff Gottlieb
- Assistant Producer: Jeff Gottlieb
- Engineer: Bradley Cook
- Assistant engineers: Ryan Boesh, Todd Burke, Paul Naguna
- Mixing: The Dub Brothers, Femi Jiya, Eric Sarafin
- Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
- String arrangements: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier
- Design: Tom Dolan
- Art direction: Tom Dolan, J.P. Plunier
- Photography: Bob "Stiv" Coke, Jeff Gottlieb
- Research: Ben Elder
