music.wikisort.org - Composition

Welcome to the Cruel World is Ben Harper's debut album from Virgin Records. Released in 1994, the album established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area. After this release, Harper went on to add a permanent backing band, the Innocent Criminals, although they remained unnamed until the Burn to Shine album. The song "I'll Rise" is based on a 1978 Maya Angelou poem "And Still I Rise".

Welcome to the Cruel World
Studio album by Ben Harper
Released	February 8, 1994
Recorded	The Convent
Genre	Blues, folk, alternative rock
Length	50:25
Label	Virgin
Producer	Ben Harper, Jean-Pierre Plunier
Ben Harper chronology
Welcome to the Cruel World (1994) Fight for Your Mind (1995)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
Q	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
USA Today	[7]
The Village Voice	[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted.

1. "The Three of Us" – 2:35
2. "Whipping Boy" (Chris Darrow) – 5:31
3. "Breakin' Down" (Harper, music: Jean-Pierre Plunier) – 4:00
4. "Don't Take That Attitude to Your Grave" – 4:25
5. "Waiting on an Angel" – 3:53
6. "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" – 2:29
7. "Forever" – 3:23
8. "Like a King" – 4:18
9. "Pleasure and Pain" – 3:44
10. "Walk Away" – 3:49
11. "How Many Miles Must We March" – 3:07
12. "Welcome to the Cruel World" – 5:36
13. "I'll Rise" (lyrics: Maya Angelou; music: Harper) – 3:35
    • Contains the hidden track "...By and By I'm Going to See the King" (Blind Willie Johnson) – 0:30
    • "Remember - unreleased version (bonus track) - 2:49

Personnel

Music credits

• Ben Harper - vocals, acoustic guitar, Weissenborn guitar, dobro
• Richard Cook - Uillean pipes on "Pleasure and Pain"
• Rock Deadrick - percussion, drums, backing vocals
• Tom Freund
• Suzie Katayama - cello on "Pleasure and Pain"
• John McKnight - bass, accordion on "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now"
• Tommy D. Daugherty - drum programming
• Gail Deadrick - piano on "I'll Rise"
• Clabe Hangan, Clarence Butler, John Taylor, Kenneth McDaniel, Clyde Allen, Jelanie Jones, Kevin Williams - backing vocals

Production credits

• Producers: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier
• Associate producer: Jeff Gottlieb, Mikal Reid
• Engineer: Mikal Reid
• Assistant engineer: Bradley Cook
• Mixing: Mikal Reid
• Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
• Advisor: Ben Elder
• Art direction: Tom Dolan, J.P. Plunier
• Research: Ben Elder
• Photography: Jeff Gottlieb

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[9]	94
French Albums Chart[10]	11

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[11]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	Gold	50,000^
France (SNEP)[13]	Platinum	300,000*
United States (RIAA)[14]	Gold	500,000
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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