Ben Harper Sees Both Sides

Ben Harper will release a two-CD set, Both Sides of the Gun, on March 21st. While Harper released a collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama in 2004, this eighteen-track collection, divided into nine songs per disc, is the follow-up to his last solo effort, 2003's world music-inspired Diamonds on the Inside.

At an hour long, the new material would easily fit on one CD. But Harper wanted to give each disc a distinct sound, one harder and one softer, as he just "wasn't able to find that magic balance."

Among the tracks on Both Sides' harder-edged half is the title track, which melds funk with a Seventies soul vibe, and the blues and funk-driven "Black Rain," a song in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In contrast, Both Sides' second half features the power ballad "Picture in a Frame," and the romantic closer "Happily Ever After in Your Eyes," a track Harper hopes will become "the ultimate wedding song." (Harper and longtime girlfriend actress Laura Dern actually chose holiday tracks for their recent wedding ceremony this December 23rd in Los Angeles.)

While the California singer-songwriter turned to his usual backing band and a number of L.A. "jazz-heads" for recording, he self-produced the album and, on several tracks, played all the instruments. Harper says of his very hands-on effort, "I feel confident there's not an ounce of filler."

With tour plans in support of Both Sides in the works for either February or March -- and a co-headlining slot for the Langerado Music Festival in Sunrise, Florida, on March 11th -- Harper finds himself itching to get out on the road. "I'm jumping out of my skin. I can hardly sit still. I just can't wait to get it out and play it."

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter