Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside

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Music reviews of Diamonds on the Inside

Music Review: Better than 'Burn To Shine', barely
Rating: 3 Stars

This is because the "protection" process actually introduces errors into the data on the CD itself and counts on your standalone CD player to interpolate over the error properly.

Some older or offbrand standalone CD players may therefore produce strange skipping sounds or refuse to play "With My Own Two Hands" altogether. This is because the deliberate introduction of errors into the data track without corresponding error correction bits violates the Red Book audio standard (and no C2 or MMC error correction can fix it). The only thing that keeps this track from making obnoxious 'shlerpping' noises in mopst peoples' CD players is their internal interpolation logic, which varies in quality from brand to brand.

This is a *serious* concern since most every CD retailer in the USA will NOT allow you to return a disc that has been opened regardless of whether you claim it will not play in your player. Amazon may be different in this respect, I am unsure.

I would wager that one would have an easier time finding this track on an illegal filesharing network than actually ripping it properly off the CD for one's own personal (and completely legal) use.
I refuse to do this because I still naively believe that artists without their own labels might make some money directly from my purchases, and I use FLAC lossless audio compression so no data is lost.
I eventually used the CDex ripper with paranoid error correction turned off, and it finally came out without audible errors after attempting to rip it in several different optical drive brands.
Owning a 24-bit sound card, it would have been trivially easy to capture the (interpolated) audio in analog from a quality standalone unit and then dither the high-res signal down to 16/44.1. I am stubborn however, and refuse to compromise with any introduced additional noise - since the CD is ostensibly a CD, it should play in any redbook compliant CD player.

This one doesn't, and yet they sell it at CD stores and make no mention of the deliberately introduced errors. Most people who make mp3's to trade will not insist on bit-for-bit accuracy, and non-"secure" ripping programs will probably be able to pull te first track off the CD without anyone noticing anything but a small blurping-noise to two. Most people who trade mp3's won't mind this at all. It angered me enough to write this long review, and I actually *bought* the album.
This is what the record company still doesn't get.

As a pathetic "concession" to those of us to listen to audio entirely through our computers (which can be as high fidelity as you please and allows for huge playlists and instant access), Virgin has included a data track that contains a very bad installable media player and a horrifically low resolution WMA version of the album.
These compressed tracks sound far worse than a mono AM radio broadcast, literally. It does not matter if you have a studio quality 24-bit 192Khz capable sound card, there is nothing you can do to make the included compressed versions sound even remotely acceptable.

So, while I enjoy this album to some extent, I'm somewhat disappointed with its lack of flow and general inconsistency. Even on his heartfelt (if tiresome) songs about jesus, Harper is sorely lacking in comparison to the first three albums.
And where is the Wiessenborn that made him such a unique and compelling artist to begin with???

Even more disappointing is Virgin's asinine attempt to foil file sharers by penalizing all buyers of the album with an inferior and deliberately error-ridden (including the error correction code) copy.
Thanks for nothing Virgin.

If I were a more mean spirited person, I might consider sharing the first track alone in a CD-quality Vorbis or LAME mp3 format on file-sharing network.
I still refuse to do this, but I will not be buying any more Virgin releases for a long, long time. Sorry Ben!

Description of Diamonds on the Inside

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Fight for Your Mind	Both Sides of the Gun	Welcome to the Cruel World
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