- Critic score
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- By date
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Entertainment WeeklyIt's occasionally a bit too easy to play spot-the-influences with Harper's stuff... but his unabashed, unaffected nostalgia is more charming than irritating. [24 Mar 2006, p.69]
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UrbWith Both Sides Of The Gun, Harper proves he's prolific, diverse and relevant. [Apr 2006, p.86]
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Rolling StoneThe rap on Ben Harper's music up to this point has been that it's been too derivative. This could be the album where he finally transcends that. [23 Mar 2006, p.61]
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Harper more than compensates for this shortcoming [his voice], as he always has, with the brilliance of his songwriting, his lyrical content, and his musicianship.
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Paste MagazinePerhaps the album's sides are the opposite of what they initially seem: even when gripping a weapon in his hand, Harper chooses to sing quiet, pacifistic songs of love, while he finds the courage truly to speak his mind only when staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. [Apr/May 2006, p.104]
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To be sure, the quiet side is the more powerful.
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If in Both Sides of the Gun Harper is trying to show his audience what a wide variety of music he can cover, he certainly accomplishes that. But if he's trying to create an album that is really about him, he doesn't quite deliver. Ben Harper is in there, don't worry, but he can be a little hard to find.
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Mojo[CD1's] uproar casts most of CD2's over-delicate maunderings in a wan light. [Apr 2006, p.102]
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Q MagazineHis masturbatory approach to the stroking of his muse is very nearly obscene. [Apr 2006, p.114]
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UncutWhat Harper's over-educated style can't replicate is his heroes' blazing souls. [Apr 2006, p.114]
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The whole deal threatens to take off occasionally, but in the end, it doesn't rise beyond meandering.
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BlenderThere aren't many things worse than a pretentious hippie. [Apr 2006, p.112]
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While his ambition on Both Sides Of The Gun is just another of Harper's many likable qualities, ambition alone doesn't make the kind of statement that the album's scope and structure demands.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 19 out of 22
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Mixed: 3 out of 22
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Negative: 0 out of 22
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MikeAJul 31, 2006
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JoelLJun 1, 2006
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TomCMay 28, 2006