Singer/songwriter
Ben Harper formed
the Innocent Criminals to act as his supporting band for 1999's
Burn to Shine, his fourth album and first to focus heavily on his rock side. From that point on,
the Innocent Criminals were a semi-regular concern, the group that
Harper returned to whenever he wanted to underscore his funky, fuzz-guitar side.
The Innocent Criminals featured bassist
Juan Nelson, drummer
Dean Butterworth, and percussionist
David Leach, all showcased on
Burn to Shine. That album started to increase
Harper's exposure -- it inched up to 67 on the Billboard Top 200 and went all the way to two in Australia -- and between that 1999 set and the next
Innocent Criminals album,
Lifeline, in 2007,
Harper's star rose thanks to the albums
Diamonds on the Inside (2003) and
Both Sides of the Gun (2006). By that point, only
Nelson remained in
the Innocent Criminals lineup; the rest of the band comprised guitarist
Michael Ward, drummer
Oliver Charles, keyboardist
Jason Yates, and percussionist
Leon Mobley.
Lifeline debuted at nine in the U.S. and the band supported it with a tour. It took
Harper nearly ten years to return to the band, but he did so in 2016, releasing
Call It What It Is that spring. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine