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Uncut

Where in the past he has often impressed rather than engaged us, here there's an emotional warmth that makes it by some distance the best record he's ever made. [Apr 2003, p.110]

E! Online

At times, he's guilty of doing his best Lenny Kravitz impersonation.... But those moments pass relatively quickly, and he slips back into his stripped-down, socially conscious self--and that's when Harper truly shines.

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Launch.com

An extremely organic sounding album that can stretch throughout genres (reggae, blues, hippie rock) without letting the bong smoke escape.

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All Music Guide

Another stunning effort from one of rock's underground heroes.

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Blender

Diamonds is pointed, pulled-back and juicily considered instead of massively jammed-out. [#15, p.120]

Amazon.com

Here he shows more quirky imagination and inventive musicianship than on any of his earlier efforts.

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Q Magazine

This is complex, dense music that yields a little more with each play. [May 2003, p.106]

Rolling Stone

He blows up like an inheritor and improves upon his influences with a few jewels of unique and exquisitely tender rock & roll.

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Mojo

Harper offers nice lines in homages to Marley, Basement Tapes Dylan, and funky James Brown. [Apr 2003, p.106]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Harper assuredly rushes through virtually all of his available quirks, flaws, and genres of choice, in a mad rush that's equally exhilarating and exhausting.

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Entertainment Weekly

Harper's distinctive and committed vocals both unify and lift the music above homage. [21 Mar 2003, p.112]

Pitchfork

Diamonds on the Inside's breathless Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock whirlwind is tiring, at best.

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Splendid

Harper performs his knock-offs so earnestly you'd think he were resuscitating some forgotten art, rather than aping tunes that are played 24/7 on oldies radio.

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Spin

Harper's a master of no genre. [May 2003, p.111]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

justin gave it a9:
A consistently good album with lots of variations of style.

julia gave it a6:
some good songs but on the whole dissapointing,

Dirk D gave it a 7:
Some great songs on it, yet some awfull ones as well.

leza gave it a 10:
This album was truly amazing. I have been listening to ben harper for so many years, and he still amazes me!

Sam G gave it a 10:
his best work to date

Warren gave it a 10:
This album is some of the best music I've heard in a long time. VEry high quality

elizabeth b gave it a 10:
It truly amazes me how he can put so many different styles of music on his albums. He doesn't just stick to a certain sound, unlike most of the bands do that get airplay...they never mature as musicians, they just keep the same sound because it worked the first time. I saw Ben at SXSW just 2 weeks ago at Waterloo Records. He only played about 5 songs, most were from "Diamonds". If people do not hear the "Marley-Dylan-Hendrix" of this generation, they simply are not paying attention.

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Diamonds On The Inside

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