Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner
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Free Music Notes for The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner
Free Music Review: A melancholy work of great creativity
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the last work of Ben Folds Five before they broke up, and in my opinion their most mature and cohesive album. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is loosely a concept album, and is one of those discs that you may not like upon the first listen, but that will slowly grow on you until you love it, not because of increasing familiarity, but instead because of the increasing depth that is found from repeated listening.And upon this first listen, one of your first complaints may be that this doesn't sound like Ben Folds Five. That is true. Where are the tight drum beats and distorted bass? I agree it's unfortunate that the other band members aren't "used" to the extent they were in earlier albums. This album really doesn't sound like older BFF stuff except for "Army," but that doesn't mean it's worse. Ben has expanded the sound by foregoing the usual piano timbre on several songs and instead using a Rhodes piano or a special tack-hammer piano which gives the notes a muffled, percussive sound. This works to awesome effect on "Hospital Song," which was originally several minutes longer and was cut down for some untold reason (I still long for the full version to this day!).
The band has fused even more eclectic styles together and made their music the most progressive it's ever been. The incredible outro of "Regrets," for example, can only have been inspired by the slow groove of Pink Floyd. I also enjoy the jazzy bits in this song and "Your Most Valuable Possession (which is also my least favorite track, though).
I really like the feeling of melancholy that pervades the album. Also of note is that bassist Darren Jessee wrote "Magic," a great song about the death of a loved one. Up until then Ben wrote practically everything. In the end, all these songs have surprising depth, and the listening experience is a satisfying one. If you want to be introduced to Ben Folds Five, I suggest you first try their superb "Whatever and Ever Amen," one of the best albums of the nineties.
Free Music Review: They Can't Go Wrong
Hit: 5 Stars
Ben Folds Five proves once again that they are one of the most creative and talented bands out there to this day. Their sound on this album is like the sound on their other cds, however, on "Unauthorized Biography", they add a few more "flavors" to their tunes. Most of the songs on this album tend to be on the more mellow and calm side, but very beautiful and lyrically incredible. Every song on this album is filled with meaning, with the exception of the silly but very fun "Your Redneck Past". It's really quite impossible to describe the amount of creativity and musicality that this group has. Their style is all their own, yet they still throw out those catchy melodies that get stuck in your head. For these reasons, this band is one of my 3 all time favorites. My two favorite songs from this particular album are definitely "Magic" and "Mess". The lyrics from these 2 songs alone will most likely resurface some memories in your mind, and you'll end up dwelling on them for some time after the songs end (for example, going through a breakup in "Mess", or losing a loved one in "Magic"). Everytime Ben sings the line "trading places with an angel now..." in "Magic", tears begin to fill up my eyes....it's beautiful. Other notable tunes are "Narcolepsy" (which is my favorite song that they perform live), "Regrets", "Your Redneck Past", and "Don't Change Your Plans". So to sum up all my rambling....another magnificent album by one hell of a band. So don't let this cd fall short of your music library.Free Music Review: Leaving, so soon?
Hit: 5 Stars
Why? Why did these guys have to split up now? While the first two albums showcased the group's sense of humor and canny pop sensibility, ...Reinhold Messner is years ahead of both. A small masterpiece. It manages to glance at the past while branching out in a dozen new directions, sound forlorn and yet hopeful, seem fictional and yet autobiographical. Obviously there have been mixed reviews: a band with a cult following on the college circuit taking pages (whole chapters, even) from Chopin and Gershwin isn't something that happens every decade. This is a bit much to swallow for people who only saw the catchiness and humor on the surface before. "What, they're going to prove they're serious? Respectable? Who do they think they are!" Funny, people said the same thing about Zappa."Army" shows Folds's rapier wit as sharp as ever; it's the only track that would have fit on one of the previous albums. There's a faux-bombast classical waltz ("Narcolepsy"), a crazy mix of styles ("Regrets"), some upbeat silliness to lighten things up ("Redneck"), and all the influences Ben used to wear on his sleeve are now tossed into a blender on Liquefy. It's almost worth it just for "Magic" alone. But this one needs to be appreciated as a whole; it's their most well-crafted, well-composed, artistic and (for lack of a better word) mature collective work. If you want another "Song for the Dumped," just download "Army" and forget the rest. If you can appreciate an eclectic, layered piece of work, this will keep you satisfied for quite some time.
Free Music Review: Definitely a "grower" for me...
Hit: 5 Stars
I've liked BFF since I first heard "Battle of Who Could Care Less" one late night while I was living in Chapel Hill. I bought "Whatever and Ever, Amen" first, and it slowly grew on me over the course of a year. I eventually bought the first album and fell immediately in love. Since then I've been a fairly die-hard fan and was counting the days until the release of "TUBORM" back in April. I was quite disappointed upon first listen, since I, like many others, had been expecting more of the same pounding piano, fuzzed up bass, and cheeky punk-pop of the first two albums. I thought it was too mellow, too polished, and the melodies just didn't hit me the same way. But after a week or two of playing this disc repeatedly, I grew to love it as much as the other two discs. Seeing the band live in Raleigh cemented it for me, as they played nearly every song from the album, and every one sounded *incredible*. I even recommended the CD to some friends of mine who only liked BFF for "Brick", and now they love TUBORM and play it all the time. "Don't Change Your Plans" has become my anthem of the decade, "Magic" is simply one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and "Army" is just way too fun to sing along with. I would recommend this to anyone who likes their music to be fun, intelligent, and above all, different from all the dreck on the radio these days.Free Music Review: Astounding.......
Hit: 5 Stars
Wow. That one word pretty much sums it up. It would have been easy for BFF to release an album along the same vein as Whatever and Ever Amen. Everyone would have been perfectly happy with that----myself included. But instead, BFF embarked on something truly ambitious, and the result is an album that is simply amazing which tops even Whatever and Ever Amen. It opens with Narcolepsy, a mind-blowing fusion of classical and rock music that is of their best songs ever. Every song on the album is great----Don't Change Your Plans (a good pop song reminiscent of Where's Summer B off their first album), Mess (has a western feel to it. That's WESTERN, as in cowboys and such, not country), Hospital Song (short but sweet), Army (great momentum, a nice big-band sound, and awesome lyrics. I walk around singing this one all the time), Regrets, You're Redneck Past (goofy and just plain fun to listen to), Jane (a more electronic song that's a fun change of pace), and Lullabye. Lullabye is my favorite BFF song of all time. Every single note of it is bursting with heart and soul. You're Most Valuable Possession isn't really a song, but an answering machine message left by Ben's Dad while he was still half-asleep, with some music in the background. It's basically comic relief, and is another track like Redneck Past which is just plain fun. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Ben Folds is a freaking genius.