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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Diamonds On The Inside
by Ben Harper


9.0

based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Southern California native Harper has gained a cult following for his jam-band-like approach to roots rock. This is his fifth studio LP.

LABEL:	Virgin
RELEASE DATE:	11 March 2003
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock, Singer-Songwriter

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

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.

Launch.com

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

All Music Guide

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Spin

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

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.

Diamonds On The Inside by Ben Harper

Diamonds On The Inside
by Ben Harper