Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen

MINE

Oh, why don't I play this more often?  A Forgotten Gem for me, that's for sure.  I've been a fan of shiny piano-based pop since my youth - aided by my forced piano education and my desire to play something, ANYthing other than the dull and boring classical pieces I was forced to practice day in and day out.  So my teenage years were informed by my love of 10CC, Billy Joel and Elton John.  Mock me not.  (YourZ sez: oh, come on, don't spoil my fun)

Ben Folds Five certainly deliver when it comes to that shiny-pop sound, even though many of the tunes on this album reflect a darker lyricism, including Song For The Dumped.  It's the album that brought the band their greatest recognition before they split, and is loaded with great tunes that'll put a positive feeling in your heart while delivering snide and depressing messages.

I have a soft spot for Mr Folds, for taking a young Adelaide girl as his bride, albeit briefly, and making his home Down Under for a while.  He's also fond of the Antipodes and tours here regularly, so maybe I'll take the opportunity to see him play next time he visits.  It's sure to be a fun gig.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Hmm, reading Mine's review above and listening back to Whatever And Ever Amen, I also asked myself why I haven't listened to this more often.  Then it occurred me why.  As a guitarist, spending too much time listening to a pop music album that doesn't have guitars is kind of like an Israeli spending time in Palestine - it just feels wrong (I know - I need to get over myself sometimes, don't I?) (Mine says: ... reading my mind again dammit)

This is not to say this isn't a great album 'cause it is.  Ben Folds and co are fabulously talented and the songs are clever on a number of levels.  I really do like it and understand why Mine has called it a Forgotten Gem.  The opener, One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces, sounds like everything Jay Kay (from Jamiroquai for those not in the know) has ever done except better and funnier.

Then there's the beautiful, sad and poignant Brick, which became a cross over hit for the band and propelled them into the mainstream, where I get the feeling a lot of people probably felt overwhelmed by the cleverness of Fold's lyrics and relegated the band to almost gimmick status, more's the pity.

But I think it's the song Kate, a piece of pure pop genius with soaring harmonies, I enjoy most.  I used to share a house with a girl of the same name and more than a few boys fell head over heels for her while she lived there.  The lyrics are almost a perfect homage to the girl I knew, although I was as never struck by her as my friends were (they never lived with her - let's leave it at that).

I'm glad the pointy stick landed on Whatever And Ever Amen because this is indeed one album (in fact the only Ben Folds in our collection) I am glad to be reminded we have.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.benfoldsfive.com/

Superchunk - Foolish

YOURZ

There was a time when I listened to this album a lot.  And by this I mean at least once every day.  Seriously.  In fact, I wrote a song that became a centrepiece in my band's repertoire that was heavily influenced by this album, so much so that a lot of friends called it our Superchunk song.  Ah, those were some good days...  ('scuse me while I reminisce a bit more...)

Okay, done now.

The Chunksters were part of the Chapel Hill scene, which also spawned Polvo, Archers Of Loaf and, most notably, Ben Folds Five.  Superchunk's Mac and Laura also founded the hip indie label, Merge, which is still going strong today (and includes American indie darlings such as She & Him, Spoon and The Shout Out Louds).  And the band itself is still going strong, something of a feat considering most of their contemporaries have long broken up.

I still get shivers up my spine when I hear tracks like Driveway To Driveway or The First Part.  And while I know Mine is probably gonna hate Mac's voice, (Mine says: you know me so well, dear) the raw emotion and fragility of  it is still kicks me in the guts.  Foolish might be this album's name but its nature is so much more.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

So who told guitarist Mac McCaughan he could sing?  (YourZ sez: ha, I knew it)  Seriously, this album has some nice tunes on it, but by the time I was on to about the fourth or fifth track, that high-pitched sounds-like-you-trod-on-a-cat wailing gave me a headache.  I really got the whole grumpy-old-woman bit about it.

In fact, this is one instance where the fact they'd mixed the vocals down and the instruments up didn't bother me at all.  This album would have been better if it was wholly instrumental.  Or if someone else sang.  Anybody.  Even Bob Dylan.  (OK, maybe I exaggerate there.)

The songs are also a bit same-y after a while, and I guess that means I've outgrown the whole indie-band thing, when you can forgive poor execution for the fact they have a lot of raw energy.  Give me execution any day. 

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.superchunk.com/

In our collection we also have Here Is Where The Strings Come In