Fight for Your Mind

Last updated

Fight for Your Mind
BenHarperFightForYourMind.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1, 1995
Genre Alternative rock
Length68:05
Label Virgin
Producer
  • Ben Harper
  • Jean-Pierre Plunier
  • Bob "Stiv" Coke
Ben Harper chronology
Welcome to the Cruel World
(1994)
Fight for Your Mind
(1995)
The Will to Live
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Fight for Your Mind is the second album by Ben Harper. Released on August 1, 1995, it was his last solo album before adding the Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from folk ("Another Lonely Day"), folk rock ("Gold to Me"), and politically charged reggae ("Excuse Me Mr.").

Contents

After Harper's well-received debut, Welcome to the Cruel World , he expanded on his fanbase by touring relentlessly with jam bands like Dave Matthews Band. On this, his second album, Harper added a more refined sense of his own intense spirituality, such as on the gospel-influenced album closers, "Power of the Gospel", "God Fearing Man" and "One Road to Freedom".

Artwork

The album cover features Harper's face on fire, as the artwork features the use of military roundels from African nations (plus Jamaica) to represent each track on the album. The track corresponding to each roundel is:

Harper has continued to use roundel-inspired artwork on his other albums.

Track listing

All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted.

  1. "Oppression" – 2:58
  2. "Ground on Down" – 4:53
  3. "Another Lonely Day" – 3:43
  4. "Please Me Like You Want To" – 4:55
  5. "Gold to Me" – 5:00
  6. "Burn One Down" – 3:31
  7. "Excuse Me Mr." (Harper, Jean-Pierre Plunier) – 5:24
  8. "People Lead" – 4:13
  9. "Fight for Your Mind" – 4:06
  10. "Give a Man a Home" – 3:35
  11. "By My Side" – 3:34
  12. "Power of the Gospel" – 6:02
  13. "God Fearing Man" – 11:49
  14. "One Road to Freedom" – 4:14

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Fight for Your Mind
Chart (1999)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [7] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [8] 44
French Albums (SNEP) [9] 39
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [10] 7

Certifications and sales

Certifications for Fight for Your Mind
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [11] Platinum100,000^
France (SNEP) [12] 2× Gold200,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ) [13] Platinum15,000^
United States (RIAA) [14] Gold544,000 [15]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. Goble, Ryan Randall. "Fight for Your Mind – Ben Harper". AllMusic . Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. Kot, Greg (August 17, 1995). "Still earnest". Chicago Tribune .
  3. Ehrlich, Dimitri (August 11, 1995). "Fight for Your Mind". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  4. Wazir, Burhan (July 21, 1995). "Ben Harper: Fight for Your Mind (Virgin)". The Guardian .
  5. "Ben Harper: Fight for Your Mind". Q . No. 107. August 1995. p. 123.
  6. Randall, Mac (2004). "Ben Harper". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  363–64. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  7. "Australiancharts.com – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. "Lescharts.com – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. "Charts.nz – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. "Canadian album certifications – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Music Canada . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  12. "French album certifications – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  13. "New Zealand album certifications – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  14. "American album certifications – Ben Harper – Fight for Your Mind". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. Orshoski, Wes (April 5, 2003). "Harper, Johnson Co-Headlinging Trek Makes Perfect Sense". Billboard. p. 14. Retrieved March 13, 2019.