Album Review: Ben Harper - By My Side

It's a retrospective one for Ben Harper this time 'round, ahead of the Californian's tour later this year. By My Side is certainly a treasure trove, enough to make some people of a certain age feel it and ask questions like, 'Gee, where does the time go?' What's nice about this collection is that there's a healthy inclusion of tracks to satisfy fans who've jumped on board at whatever point in the soulful gent's career; songs that go right back, songs that flew under the radar and the token inclusions that one expects from a 'best of'.

Suitably reaching right back to his 1994 debut Welcome To The Cruel World, Forever kicks things off with bittersweet guitar noodling, setting the tone nicely for what's to come and similarly closing proceedings with the equally downbeat acoustic crooner, Waiting On An Angel. This album had such an iconic and immediately recognisable cover, and the arrival of its fresh sound alongside such a vibrant personality heralded a fruitful career ahead. It seems fitting that these tracks bookend this compilation. Moving through the back catalogue nearly chronologically has some reassuring guidance about it. By My Side from 1995's Fight For Your Mind takes us by the hand for that now-style-pinpointing sound of organ keys tripping over their own notes under Ben's earnest whisper. Diamonds On The Inside of course gets a look in from his career-defining 2002 release of the same name, as well as the relaxed and carefree reggae strums of In The Colors.

Bonus new track Crazy Amazing finds Ben in fine form once again, and will surely dull those hunger pains lest the newbie takes a while to roll around.