[2001] Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs (Mp3 Download)

Superficially, there's not much separating Ben Folds' first official solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs, from his records with Ben Folds Five. It's hard to note any difference, really, since he still works from the same vantage point, borrowing equally from new wave, '90s irony, and a love of classic pop. Still, there is a difference, even if it's hard to pinpoint -- perhaps it's an increased focus, perhaps it was a hot streak from Folds, or perhaps the Five really were more of a group than they seemed and he's benefited by working according to his own patterns. Regardless, Rockin' the Suburbs is as good a record as any he's made, possibly his best. It's still possible to hear his influences -- Joe Jackson still stands out, as do elements of Billy Joel and Todd Rundgren -- but there's no shame there, and he's accepted it as part of his musical personality so much that it sounds like him, even when it sounds familiar. Better still, he's tempered his tendency to be a collegiate wiseass -- it pokes through on the title track, but that's the rare time that it's brought to the forefront -- which helps his songs shine brighter. And while there are no surprises here to anybody familiar with his work, it's a remarkably consistent record, filled with great mid-tempo pop tunes and nicely sentimental ballads. It's simply a good, solid record that captures Ben Folds at his most engaging, and that's more than enough. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at allmusic.com

Track List

01. Annie Waits

02. Zak and Sara

03. Still Fighting It

04. Gone

05. Fred Jones, Pt. 2

06. The Ascent of Stan

07. Losing Lisa

08. Carrying Cathy

09. Not the Same

10. Rockin' the Suburbs

11. Fired

12. The Luckiest

found at http://fashnek.com

[2005] Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman (Mp3 Download)

Ben Folds is at his best when he melds the acerbic with the heartfelt, a balancing act that he's honed to perfection on the warm and ballad-heavy Songs for Silverman. Opening track "Bastard," with a fuzzed-out bassline right out of 1995, kick-starts a record that plays like a show in reverse. The meat's all upfront, so those expecting a show-stopping encore will just have to listen to it backward, as this is Ben Folds the family man, not the embittered youth who joined the "Army" on 1999's Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. While there is a warm undercurrent of tenderness that runs through Silverman, it's never cloying or clichéd; rather, Folds can take the simplest notion, insert a gorgeous piano motif, and hit that one line in falsetto that gives you goose bumps -- the lovely "Time" is a perfect example -- without breaking a sweat. On a song for his daughter ("Gracie") he teases, fawns, and pontificates without ever seeming overbearing -- a line like "you can't fool me/I saw you when you came out/You've got your mama's taste but you got my mouth" makes even the most spawn-fearing post-hipster reconsider the prospect of parenthood. However, Folds' brand of wry observation is most effective when it's applied to an antagonist like on the aforementioned "Bastard" ("You get smaller as the world gets big/'The Whiz Man' will never fit you like 'The Whiz Kid' did"), and while his barbs have taken on more of a nostalgic bent, soaring tracks like "Jesusland," "You to Thank," and "Late" -- the latter is a stark, simple, blue-collar ode to Elliott Smith -- confirm what many already knew, that Ben Folds is in this for the long haul, and you the consumer are luckier for it. Review by James Christopher Monger at allmusic

Track List

01. Bastard

02. You to Thank

03. Jesusland

04. Landed

05. Gracie

06. Trusted

07. Give Judy My Notice

08. Late

09. Sentimental Guy

10. Time

11. Prison Food

found at http://fashnek.com/