Fear of Pop - Fear of Pop, Vol. 1
|
List Price: Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Fear of Pop, Vol. 1
Free Music Review: Holy craziness, Batman!
Hit: 5 Stars
Ben Folds lost his mind at some point in 1998. That is the only possible explanation for /Fear of Pop: Vol. 1/, by far the oddest item in Folds's catalogue. That doesn't mean it's bad, though; for those willing to abandon their preconceived notions about what a Ben Folds album "should" sound like, /Fear of Pop/ can yield rich rewards. The blaxploitation funk of "Kops" is the high point of an album loaded with high points, closely followed by the trippy title track, the utter insanity of "Avery M. Powers Memorial Beltway," and the driving spoken-word piece "I Paid My Money."
Of course, one would be remiss not to mention the inclusion of William Shatner on this album. This is a man I admire solely because of his ability to laugh at himself; I challenge anyone to maintain a straight face when he mutters slyly, "Aaaaaand... I went in for the kill!" Shatner's musical career is so bizarre and laugh-out-loud funny that it elevates /Fear of Pop: Vol. 1/ to mythic proportions.
Simply put, this is an album that you must have if you like your music quirky and bizarre (and Folds fans, listen very carefully to the background music at the beginning of the straight-up jam "Rubber Sled"). It's an overlooked classic, one as amazing the millionth time through as it is the first.
Free Music Review: Ben Folds at play
Hit: 4 Stars
Given the quality of the tracks and how amusing they are, anyone who gives this a low score is missing something. It's got to do with expectation, only those who buy Fear of Pop blindly, expecting regular Ben Folds Five stuff and don't like anything without lyrics will not like this album. If you don't fit this description, then you will probably like this little side-project made by Ben Folds in 1998 while the band was on tour.
Some tracks wear thin but others are classics, there is gold to be found here and anyone who appreciates Ben Fold's musical talent should put this on their shopping list.
"Root to this" will be a pleasant surprise to Australian listeners and "In Love" could be William Shatner's best comedic work since "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
Free Music Review: Different...
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a crazy cd. If you like electronica at all, you will like this. It is not the usual Ben Folds, but don't let that put you off. Kops is a great parody, the song with Shatner doing spoken-word is downright hilarious. I honestly wasn't sure I would like this cd, but I really do despite the omission of the piano and very few words from Folds himself.Free Music Review: UGH. Avoid this album.
Hit: 1 Stars
I am one of the biggest Ben Folds fans you will ever find. I can't get enough of his music. And so I decided to buy this CD, the last one of his that I do not have in my collection. WHAT A MISTAKE. This CD is immediately making its way to the trash can, it's not even worth my time to sell it... This CD is NOT the Ben Folds music you have come to love over the years. This CD is comprised of ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC and SPOKEN WORD PIECES (not all spoken by Ben Folds). I don't even think Ben Folds' singing voice shows up once on this entire album, let alone any REAL songs. [...] Avoid this CD if you're a Ben Folds fan. This CD is for electronica/dance lovers.Free Music Review: (and 1/2) ...but not reccomended if you expect Ben Folds 5
Hit: 3 Stars
This is almost nothing like the Ben Folds Five material, or even Rocking The Suburbs for that matter. What it does seem to be is Ben Folds suddenly acquiring a lot of high-tech musical "toys" and having so much fun with them he decides to have a go at using every single one of them for an album. The main appeal to this cd is that you have no idea what style of music is going to come next: Generic 70's cop show background music? a Talking Heads homage/parody with lyrics about refusing to leave in the middle of a film? Breakbeat techno featuring a woman with an australian accent insisting that you give her something she can "root to"? Easy-listening bachelor pad music with sardonic spoken word by William Shatner? It's all here. Also, although this album seems to Folds' way of expressing his "fear of pop", there's always an underlying sense of melody around to keep it listenable. In an alternate universe Ben's harmony vocals on "In Love" could be the basis of a Ben Folds Five song, and most of the other songs have at least some elements that are downright catchy, in an odd, playful kind of way. The novelty of this album does tend to wear off after a while, but even then it's still good for an occasional play, and for use as unusual mixtape fodder.