Fight for Your Mind


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 ben Harper & [the Innocent Criminals|Innocent Criminals] to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from folk music|folk], folk rock, and politically charged reggae.
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 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." – 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

  • Ben Harper – acoustic guitar, vocals, weissenborn
  • Brett Banduci – viola
  • Danielle Charles – violin
  • Oliver Charles – drums
  • Bob "Stiv" Coke - tabla, tambourine, tamboura, sarod
  • Timothy Loo – cello
  • Leon Mobley – percussion
  • Juan Nelson – bass guitar
  • Ervin Pope – organ, Hammond organ

    Production

  • Producers: Ben Harper, Bob "Stiv" Coke, J.P. Plunier
  • Associate producer: Jeff Gottlieb
  • Assistant producer: Jeff Gottlieb
  • Engineer: Bradley Cook
  • Assistant engineers: Ryan Boesh, Todd Burke, Paul Naguna
  • Mixing: The Dub Brothers, Femi Jiya, Eric Sarafin
  • Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
  • String arrangements: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier
  • Design: Tom Dolan
  • Art direction: Tom Dolan, J.P. Plunier
  • Photography: Bob "Stiv" Coke, Jeff Gottlieb
  • Research: Ben Elder

    Charts

Certifications and sales