Comments on: Ben Folds Five Jump On The “Let’s Have Bands Perform Their Old Albums Live” Bandwagon

By: MrStarhead

MrStarhead — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:29:37 +0000

And they'll get another name. So nuke another Grandma's apple pie and hang your head in shame.

At a solo college gig about five years ago, Ben Folds performed "Army" with the local college marching band. It was actually really awesome.

By: cheesebubble

cheesebubble — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:16:21 +0000

There has to be a group of people in the audience yelling “Brick” for the duration of this performance!

By: Chris Molanphy

Chris Molanphy — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:07:38 +0000

@Jerkwheat: Citing "artistic differences," your band will break up in May. Then, in June, re-form without you.

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:13:08 +0000

@Bob Loblaw: I'll also stand up for it. It's a good album.

This idea still ain't as good as "Don't Look Back" (Slint!) but hey, I liked Ben Folds Five, nice to see that they don't hate each other like some bands that broke up (Huskers, anyone?)

By: D.R. Mosby

D.R. Mosby — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:18:31 +0000

@Bob Loblaw: Wow, not a single defender of poor Reinhold?

Oh, I'd be happy to stand up for it. I think the songwriting is just as good as on Ben Folds Five and Whatever..., only faltering in a few places (the aimless "Mess" and the regrettable Darren Jessee contribution "Magic"). I like the fact that it's not a retread of Whatever..., which surely would have been easy to make. On R.M. they expand the arrangements to include more instruments besides piano, bass and drums, but it's always in service of the song, not just to fill space. Bonus points also need to be given to whoever sequenced this album, because the "Hospital Song" / "Army" / "Your Redneck Past" section is just brilliant.

By: Jerkwheat

Jerkwheat — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:18:35 +0000

Woo hoo! I’m gonna grow a mustache and a mullet. Maybe get a job at Chick-fil-a.

By: Bob Loblaw

Bob Loblaw — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:46:41 +0000

Wow, not a single defender of poor Reinhold? It was their only real, cohesive album, lovable for its overreaching (oh, his Dad on the answering machine…), and with a cleaned-up middle section it might have been a true classic (I agree that it’s not)–Narcolepsy, Don’t Change Your Plans, Mess, Magic and Lullabye are a step and a half above anything else they ever did.

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:25:42 +0000

I approve of all this Adore love. It is the dark jewel of them all.

By: bcapirigi

bcapirigi — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:19:19 +0000

i always liked whatever & ever amen, despite the fact that it was REALLY overplayed on the radio. but even the alternative station here–which constantly kept telling us that it was the first station in the country to play bff*–didn’t really get into army.

(*by which i mean ben folds five)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:18:52 +0000

@Ned Raggett: I guess I'd be find with a Machina show seeing as they are one of my very favorite bands (just so long as they dropped "Heavy Metal Machine" from the set).

Adore is a classic.

By: Chris Molanphy

Chris Molanphy — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:06:19 +0000

@dog door: Not so much on Machina, but I too love Adore -- it's the Cure album Corgan always wanted to record.

Agreed with Al on Messner, and this is clearly Folds himself exorcising some demons (artistic and commercial). He really wanted that one to be his Van Dyke Parks-style song cycle, and a decade later I don't think he can accept that it wasn't just a flop with the "Brick"-addled public but with many of his fans, too (of which I count myself one). It's not a bad album, just a classic over-reacher.

Whatever and Ever, Amen, which is perceived as a goofier album ("Song for the Dumped," "One Angry Dwarf..." etc.), actually has tender moments that are much more relatable and emotional than anything on Messner. And the BFF debut remains Folds's masterpiece.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:39:26 +0000

I saw Cheap Trick do this with the "Budokan" concert in the 1990s, but they played the entire set in order, not just the original release.

I also saw REO Speedwagon play one side of "Hi Infidelity" straight through. :)

By: cassidy2099

cassidy2099 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:10:20 +0000

Like The Killer's doing Sam's Town.

By: dog door

dog door — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:53:19 +0000

@Ned Raggett: seconded. i love Adore too

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:49:11 +0000

@2ironic4u: Smashing Pumpkins do Machina

Yeah but I'd want to see that one. (It's a great album!)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:40:08 +0000

@Royfromage: That should be a concert series. Bands doing those albums that no one liked and nobody owns

Metallica performs St. Anger in its entirety
R.E.M. does Around The Sun
Smashing Pumpkins do Machina
etc...

By: revmatty

revmatty — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:36:01 +0000

@Al Shipley: Agreed. Messner might be their favorite overall album, but I think there were more popular songs off of the first two. And they had some killer b-sides as well.

By: Al Shipley

Al Shipley — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:04:16 +0000

@Royfromage: Haha, or, what you said.

By: Al Shipley

Al Shipley — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:03:57 +0000

As I said to Maura this morning, this is doubly weird because Reinhold Messner was generally considered a big commercial disappointment, and really wasn't more "critically acclaimed" than the first 2 albums either. I saw them live a few times and they were always pretty good, but the shows in support of it were kind of a drag by comparison, and at 40 minutes running time it really won't make for much of a show, unless they do a long encore full of songs from the other albums.

By: Royfromage

Royfromage — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:02:36 +0000

At least they have the integrity to play the album that nobody liked and nobody owns. Rock n roll!