The debut record that gave Ben Harper his original following, “Welcome to the Cruel World”, gives us a glimpse into the star this artist would become. As shown throughout his career, Harper is able to straddle the line between soothing, intimate acoustic guitar and head bumping rock and roll. We see that here, as the album starts strong with great acoustic guitar work, setting the tone on the grungy track “Whipping Boy”. Later, he slows it down for “Waiting on an Angel”, a track that calms and soothes.