It's excellent make-out material, but the electric disc is even better, with more focused songs, savvy arrangements — he sprinkles sitars, strings, and vibraphones alongside his guitar chops — and soulful choruses that stick like gum.  Full text...

Both Sides of the Gun, an album more or less divided into acoustic and electric halves, is Harper's Exile on Main Street; an opportunity for the artist to rummage through his creative attic and dust off some grand old ideas.  Full text...

His lyrics are political, his personal journey deep, his musical influences eclectic - these themes play out continuously through this double album.  Full text...

The eighteen songs of Gun come on two discs, although they could have fit on one -- the idea was to break the album into halves rather than make an epic double album.  Full text...

Each disc could easily stand on its own as a complete album, but together they offer an essential snapshot of his distinct polarity. He utilizes the ample space across both albums to showcase two very different styles and do what he does best-successfully evade categorization with his diverse influences, unique style, and raw talent.  Full text...

Harper's new double-CD set feels like it's working off the same two-disc blueprint: disc one is all the classic rock, crunchy blues and jam rock you'd expect from Harper; and disc two is stripped down, with mostly acoustic candlelight ballads.   Full text...

Much of the soulful, folksy material on disc one is first-rate, but the pace really drags. Disc two benefits from a little more variety (angry funk, gospel-tinged rock), but the bottom line is Harper would be better off throwing both sides together on shuffle.  Full text...