Both Sides of the Gun [Bonus CD]

About Both Sides of the Gun [Bonus CD]

Both Sides of the Gun, is a Ben Harper album released in 2006. Split into two discs, the title suggests the two sides of Harper's musical nature. The first disc ("White") is made of mostly acoustic and string-driven songs hinted at on the last track ("She's Only Happy In The Sun") of Harper's previous album Diamonds on the Inside. The second disc ("Black") is made up of the more rock and upbeat material and touching on genres such as hard rock, funk and gospel. A number of tracks on "Both Sides of the Gun" crackle with intensity and outrage over the political climate in the United States, particularly "Black Rain," the lyrics to which Harper posted last September on his official Web site. The cut lashes out at President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina, proclaiming, "Don't speak to us like we work for you / Selling false hope like some new dope we're addicted to / I'm not a desperate man but these are desperate times at hand / This generation is beyond your command."The first disc delves into a variety of styles, from the swaggering, Black Crowes-style rocker "Get It Like You Like It" to the raw blues of "The Way You Found Me" and the slow-burning, largely instrumental jam "Serve Your Soul" that closes the side. The second half of "Both Sides" is a much quieter, intimate affair. It opens with the wistful, string-addled ballad "Morning Yearning" and moving on to the Nick Drake-influenced solo guitar confessional "More Than Sorry" and the unabashedly sentimental closer "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes," an ode to Harper's wife, actress Laura Dern. The album saw Harper playing the majority of the instruments on both discs; an approach that he had rarely used on his previous albums. However, the Innocent Criminals would appear on a few tracks whilst his later band, Relentless7, would appear together for the first time on "Serve Your Soul", the last track on the second disc. more »