Ben Folds (Five)

[salamander]

Well, I've been listening to Ben Folds (and Ben Folds Five) quite a bit recently, but couldn't find a thread anywhere.

 

 

 

Ben Folds Five

 

A band formed in New York in 1994, featuring Ben Folds lead singer and pianist, with Robert Sledge as bassist and Darren Jessee as drummer. Guitars didn't feature much in their songs, as a result most of their songs relied heavily on Folds' piano playing talent. They achieved success with their single Brick - a song about Folds' experience of his high school girlfriend getting an abortion.

 

 

 

They released their first album, which was self-titled, in 1995, which included the songs Philosophy and Underground (which made it in the UK top 40 late in the summer of 1996), as well as Video which is a personal favourite of mine.

 

 

 

 

Two years later, they released a second album Whatever and Ever Amen, which spawned a number of hits, including Song for the Dumped and Battle of Who Could Care Less, which was possibly their most famous song - getting quite high in the US charts if I remember correctly.

 

 

Also in 1997, they released Naked Baby Photos, which was just a group of random songs, including a few live performances, most of the songs appeared on the other two albums. One notable exception is Twin Falls, another favourite of mine.

 

 

 

 

Their final album, released in 1999 was called The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner, which contained the hit Army, as well as a solo effort from Darren Jessee: Magic.

 

 

Ben Folds described their style of music as "Punk rock for sissies."

 

 

 

If you have iTunes, you can listen to some free samples of Ben Folds Five here. (I'm not sure if they work or not, because I don't have iTunes)

 

 

 

The group split in the year 2000, each going to pursue individual projects.

 

Robert Sledge put his own group together whilst touring with whilst touring with Tom Maxwell's group Minor Drag. Darren Jessee went to play club shows around New York City.

 

 

 

Ben Folds went on to a successful solo career, and in 2001 released the album Rockin' The Suburbs. in which he played nearly all the instruments - notably the guitar, which didn't feature in Ben Folds Five. The song Still Fighting It is dedicated to his son Louis, and is probably my favourite song that he has released.

 

 

 

 

His second album Songs for Silverman, which was released in Spring 2005, is far more reliant on the piano than the previous albums. The song Gracie is dedicated to his daughter Gracie (Louis' twin). The song Late is a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliot Smith. This album featured Jared Reynolds on bass, and Lindsay Jamieson on the drums.

 

 

 

 

Folds' live performances are just him and his piano. He often gets the audience to join in - getting them to sing the trumpet/saxophone harmonies in Army and providing backing in Not the Same.

 

He often performs improvisational songs in gigs - the most popular being Rock this [bleep], of which he claims to have done over 50 versions.

 

 

 

He recently announced on his MySpace blog that he plans to work on his next studio album in October.

 

 

 

His songs have featured on television and in films many times - here is a comprehensive list of all of that. The most notable recent one is in the film Over the Hedge

 

 

 

You can listen to some free samples of Ben Folds here.

 

 

 

 

 

So, I hope someone read all of that, and if you have heard them - can you post your opinions please?

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Folds

 

http://www.chicagogigs.com/concerts/ben ... ickets.htm

 

http://imageshack.us

[Guest GhostRanger]

Ah! You forgot to comment on his live album! (Or did I just miss it?)

 

 

 

Ben Folds Live is one of the best live albums I've ever heard. He's an amazing musician and his live album is what got me hooked to him.

[salamander]

Ah! You forgot to comment on his live album! (Or did I just miss it?)

 

 

 

Ben Folds Live is one of the best live albums I've ever heard. He's an amazing musician and his live album is what got me hooked to him.

 

 

 

Oops, can't believe I forgot about that :oops:

 

That's a great album - I love One Down :3>

 

 

 

And yeah, he is an awesome muscian - he inspired me to start playing the piano ^.^

[____]

Haven't listened to Ben Folds [five] in many years.

 

Might see if I can accquire some of the albums and check it out.

[Uldric]

I got one of his live albums called Live Limited Edition, apparently released in 2002. He is great, love his style, in the Army song, gets the crowd doing sax and trumpet noises. :

[How2PK]

Heard of the man, never heard the music. Thanks for the informative post. I'll look something up at work this sunday, check it out and try to give an opinion! :)

[salamander]

Heard of the man, never heard the music. Thanks for the informative post. I'll look something up at work this sunday, check it out and try to give an opinion! :)

 

 

 

I'd recommend either 'Rockin' the Suburbs' or 'The Unauthorised Biography..' they're my favourite albums :)

[MyPurpleCrayon]

Yay, a post with thought in it! I'm glad.

 

 

 

But anyway, I love Ben Folds... I've listened to him for a good four years now, he's such an amazing musician. His live album is by far the best. :P