The Will to Live :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Marvelous

2004-10-11
Execellent album. Ben Harper incorporates many different styles of music and does it well. Overall the album is fairly spiritual in content without being over the top. I cant tell you how much I love this album. In the top 20 of albums from the Nineties.

one of the best rock albums of the 90s

2004-04-19
First question. Why is it that whenever someone mentions Ben Harper the next person's name that comes up is Lenny Kravitz? Their music is not that similar. Obviously the similarity between them is that they are the most popular African American rock musicians of the 90s. I hate this because it suggests a sense of racism by immediately pinning them against each other and making comparisons. They are two entirely different musicians, though both great in their own right. They are not the first African American rockers, for rock was invented by Chuck Berry and mastered by Jimi Hendrix. Not only that but there were other influencial and revolutionary African American rockers since then, for example, Bad Brains, Fishbone, etc.

Anyway, "The Will to Live" is an excellent album. Popular hard rock is not the forte here, nor is funked out rock. What Harper does is incorporate many genres into his mix, including blues, roots reggae, rock, folk, and grunge. The excellent strings, such as in "Roses from my Friends", suggest classical influences as well. This album pays no regard to boundaries and does it well throughout the album. All in all a work of art.

soulful & moving 2004-02-20
An album which expresses Harper's traditional genuflection to spirituality and concern for the less-than-fortunate. With "Homeless Child" and "Widow of a Living Man" (one of my favorite songs by him), Harper exhibits once again his uncanny ability of peering into the world of the downtrodden and revealing its anguish w/grace. While perhaps his most melancholy release, it's beautifully orchestrated, and like the majority of his work, it's an album that, thematically, speaks to those who are ahead of the status quo.

...not groundbreaking... but honest... 2003-04-21
cant say that i'm a fan of the country-folksy-bluesy-semi-acoustic-lowlevel-rock-and-soul genre... but this aint bad... nothing that feels prententious or forced... or even 'cute'... just honest... and i appreciate that type of music regardless to the form it takes on.

want to shake your moneymaker in the club? or rattle the concrete as you blow out your brand new stereo speakers???

then THIS aint gonna be the album you do it to...

but if you already lean toward the more eclectic/eccentric side of musical expression, then hey: get this and knock yourself out!

the will to win my musical heart 2003-01-04
Ben Harper is one of the few original artist to jump race and genre boundries. he is a master of all styles able to rock out with screaming guitar, he can hit right to your heart the next on a simple soft chord. Do yourself a favor and check out any of his CD's. or go for the gold and get the box set

A little word of a french guy 2002-12-27

Ben Harper Photos

More from Ben Harper

Welcome to the Cruel World	Diamonds on the Inside	Both Sides of the Gun
Live From Mars	Fight for Your Mind	Live at the Hollywood Bowl

A worthy sucessor to "Fight for your Mind"

2002-01-30
Ben turns up the amp some on this jewel. Right from the beginning you hear a different tone. As good as "Fight for your Mind", but different. Recommended.

Follow me here...

2001-09-23
If you can, think back and remember the sound of "Fight For Your Mind". Think about the sound that album had and how it blended three different styles of music (at the least) and how wonderful it ended up sounding. Now, I'd like you to imagine "The Will To Live". Imagine a totally different sound from its predecessor, while at the same time blending more styles of music into its content like its predecessor. Following me here? "The Will to Live" is a much different than "Fight For Your Mind". The album's message roots a little deeper into the emotional pool and conveys it in an array of folk/fusion, jazz, rythem and blues, and the patented Ben Harper acoustic sound. Only "Glory and Consequence" and "Faded" find the hard rocking weissenborn guitar. "Jah Work" although completely out of place on this album, is a perfect example of how Ben can hit a wide variety of musical styles. What you get is a pleasure of an album to listen to. It's different and unique.

GROUND BREAKING

2001-05-19
EVERY SO OFTEN AN ALBUM COMES ALONG THAT MAKES YOU RE-EXAMINE YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ALBUMS AND BEN HARPER IS ONE OF THOSE ARTISTS. HIS WORDS SEEM TO BE THE WORDS I AM LOOKING FOR TO EXPRESS HOW I FEEL, WHAT I THNK, THE EMOTINS THAT I DO NOT SHARE FOR THEY ARE TOO PERSONAL. LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM AND HIS OTHER ALBUMS, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED, AND MAYBE BEN WILL POINT YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF ENLIGHTENMENT.

Unreal

2001-03-23
If you are a music fan, you will adore this album as well as all of Ben Harper's work. This album is extremely self reflective and moving. I Shall Not Walk Alone is a track that everyone can relate to one time or another in their lives. If you like Marley, Matthews, Hendrix or any type of music, Ben Harper is sure to touch you in a similar way.