Welcome to the Cruel World

The Indianapolis Star wrote that "Harper impresses with his play of guitar and dobro, but it's his mastery of the Weissenborn ... and his vocal nuances that persuade the listener to heed these vignettes of cold truth, the essence of blues." ==Track listing==

All songs written by Ben Harper except as noted. • "The Three of Us" – 2:35 • "Whipping Boy" (Chris Darrow) – 5:31 • "Breakin' Down" (Harper, music: Jean-Pierre Plunier) – 4:00 • "Don't Take That Attitude to Your Grave" – 4:25 • "Waiting on an Angel" – 3:53 • "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" – 2:29 • "Forever" – 3:23 • "Like a King" – 4:18 • "Pleasure and Pain" – 3:44 • "Walk Away" – 3:49 • "How Many Miles Must We March" – 3:07 • "Welcome to the Cruel World" – 5:36 • "I'll Rise" (lyrics: Maya Angelou; music: Harper) – 3:35 • Contains the hidden track "...By and By I'm Going to See the King" (Blind Willie Johnson) – 0:30 • "Remember" (unreleased version; bonus track) – 2:49 ==Personnel==

Musicians • Ben Harper – vocals, acoustic guitar, Weissenborn guitar, dobro • Richard Cook – Uilleann pipes on "Pleasure and Pain" • Rock Deadrick – percussion, drums, backing vocals • Tom Freund • Suzie Katayama – cello on "Pleasure and Pain" • John McKnight – bass guitar, accordion on "Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now" • Tommy D. Daugherty – drum programming • Gail Deadrick – piano on "I'll Rise" • Clabe Hangan, Clarence Butler, John Taylor, Kenneth McDaniel, Clyde Allen, Jelanie Jones, Kevin Williams – backing vocals Production • Producers: Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier • Associate producer: Jeff Gottlieb, Mikal Reid • Engineer: Mikal Reid • Assistant engineer: Bradley Cook • Mixing: Mikal Reid • Mastering: Eddy Schreyer • Advisor: Ben Elder • Art direction: Tom Dolan, J.P. Plunier • Research: Ben Elder • Photography: Jeff Gottlieb ==Charts==