|
I get irritated and have to change it. I was very disappointed by this album. The fake songs were fun, funny, clever lyrics, and catchy. Some of the songs on the album I can't even finish all the way through. That isn't what I expected at all from this CD. So when I received the real album and realized I liked the fake songs better than the real songs I was very disappointed.
There are a few songs on the CD that I really like and sound like quality Ben but as a CD it is lacking on many tracks. I had downloaded the fake album they had recorded overnight and became very excited about the real album. Some of the techno sounds really aggravate me because they drowned out the music with annoying noises. This album has the first Ben Folds song(s) that I haven't liked. I've been seeing him live and listening to the albums for more than 10 years and I couldn't like this album. It reminds me of buying a CD from a one hit wonder and realizing they only have one or two good songs.
I'm not sure if the producer had too much influence on mixing or what happened, but hopefully the next one will be back on the level I have come to expect from Ben.
It is solid throughout with Folds' characteristic wit, great piano playing and vivid tunes.But the song "Cologne" is so extraordinary in every way that its presence alone earns this CD five stars. If you bother to look at my other Amazon reviews you might wonder why I always give CDs five stars. I never thought he could top The Luckiest, but I think he did with this tune about the end of a relationship. The truth is though that I have a rule I follow that I only review CDs I can give five stars to. There aren't many, but this is one of them. A genuine masterpiece. To my ears, it is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Really top-notch is Cologne. Nothing much to see here, folks. However, Before Cologne followed by Cologne is a fantastic sound. It's a shame this album wasn't a continuity of that quality and subjugated all that's good in the world with the track with him screaming at his girlfriend (sounded like something a 14 year old could come up with in his head while in biology class).I did try, but the only two tracks on this album worth bothering with are Before and Cologne. It earns two starts just because of how good they are together.
In all honesty, I found myself listening to this album once, not really liking it and not giving it even one repeat listen. For those long-time Ben fans that were initially disappointed with this release, I beg you, revisit it. If you look for typical Ben jokes, nods, and winks in this record you're going to be disappointed.
I went back for another listen of "Way To Normal," and everything fell into place. There are songs that are remarkably beautiful regardless of the context. However, several months later, I was reading about Ben's break-up with his wife of ten years.
However, think of this entire album from his point of view and I'm sure you'll enjoy it much more. This is Ben's "nasty break-up" record. The entire album is coming from the point of someone hurt by someone they love, someone betrayed by friends, and now lashing out at them.
"Kylie from Connecticut" is worth the price of admission alone. It's one of his most personal, and one of his best.
"Free Coffee" has some awesome effects produced by putting cans of Altoids in the piano. Are you really such an impatient, important individual that you simply CAN'T spare the time for a second run-through. "Dr. "Cologne" is beautiful, especially if you're fortunate enough to see it live, and those of you who complained about the diaper line are missing the point; it's a specific example of a funny little thing they would've talked about and marveled over together, and now they can't. Still very funny and catchy, though. It's not a bad album; far from it. I'm kind of boggling at all the people who say it doesn't measure up to "Songs for Silverman," because of all his albums (both solo and BF5) that's the only album I don't have in its entirety on my iPod.
It's just not as great as what I expect from Ben."Hiroshima" is a great start to the album, a big concert number, and to all the people who said they felt it was an inside joke they didn't get--how hard is it to figure it out. Listen to the song. Man, everyone here is saying "Ugh, I listened to this once and threw it out, it was so bad." Well.there's your problem. "Frown Song" is one of my favorites on the album--hilarious, pointed, and absolutely rockin' with that key-tar. "You Don't Know Me" is another favorite; Regina Spektor's voice meshes PERFECTLY with Ben's, and the arrangement itself is gutsy and gorgeous. "Errant Dog" is probably my least favorite, not because it's bad, but it just doesn't quite measure up to the others. It reminds me, just topically, of Rockin' the Suburbs' "Annie Waits."So in short, give it a second chance. And "Kylie from Connecticut" may be my favorite--beautiful, poignant, wistful, and refreshingly different, particularly in the middle.
Because if you're anything like me, you rarely get all the meaning and appreciation in the first listen.I loved this album, I really did. "Bitch Went Nuts" is super catchy and has a very funny intro, and it's a good "angry song." "Brainwascht" has a fantastic beat and melody, and the lyrics never fail to crack me up--I wonder who it's about. Yang" was one I didn't like so much the first time, but love now, after a few tries. It's a lot of fun, great piano, great singing. "Effington" has some of the best piano-playing on the disc, the kind of solo that just amazes me with his skill. You might like it better the next time around.
|
