(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
Ben Folds, hailing from North Carolina, is a keyboard virtuoso with a vocal range not too dissimilar from Elton Johns. However, the drive of his sarabandes is more reminiscent of Todd Rundgren.
Ben Folds Five (Passenger, 1995) still brims with punk spirit. The trio (not a quintet) echoes the Nice, and Ben Folds occasionally imitates Keith Emersons jazzy improvisations. Most of the time, however, his focus is on melody and rhythm, revived in the most conventional sense of 1950s pop music. Exuberance and optimism distinguish him from the Chapel Hill school and bring him closer, if anything, to the DBs. The album hinges on four major ballads: Philosophy, Where's Summer B, Best Imitation Of Myself, and Underground. The rhythm section of Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee maintains a staccato, music-hall style beat that often recalls Queen. The resemblance to Todd Rundgren is at once both embarrassing and commendable.
Whatever And Ever Amen (Sony, 1997) is a somewhat schizophrenic album, on one hand indulging in even bolder progressive-rock flourishes, and on the other smoothing edges and emphasizing melodicism. On one side are swing waves, minimalist patterns, and driving progressions in One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces, not to mention the glorious ragtime fugue in the middle of Song For The Dumped; on the other, mellifluous, swinging ballads like Selfless, Cold and Composed and the Yes-style vocal harmonies that abound in Fair and Battle Of Who Could Care Less.
The hit is Brick, a ballad that starts like a new-age romance and rises into a Billy Joel-style lament, cementing Folds among the stars of the moment. The true masterpiece, however, is arguably Song For The Dumped, an aggressive track recalling the stunning outbursts of his debut.
In Rundgrens tradition, serious songs are interspersed with vaudeville jokes (Kate), waltzes (Smoke), and jump blues (Steven's Last Night in Town).
Naked Baby Pictures (Caroline, 1998), a compilation of rarities and unreleased tracks, is purely a commercial speculation.
The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner (Sony, 1999) opens strongly with Narcolepsy, at the crossroads of a doo-wop choir ā la Frank Zappa and a Nirvana-style agony, and continues in the pop vein with the single Army and a solemn, Jim Steinman-esque Regrets. Hospital Song showcases the usual virtuosity, Redneck Past the usual cheeky humor, and Don't Change Your Plans the customary orchestral arrangements.
At first, it wasnt clear whether this provincial pianist was destined to become the new Keith Emerson or just wanted a spot among the many Bacharachs, McCartneys, Elton Johns, and Billy Joels. With his latest albums, Folds has resolved the dilemma.
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
The band broke up and Folds relocated to Australia.
Folds' first solo album, Rockin' The Suburbs (Epic, 2001),
is not particularly original or entertaining,
just more of the unadultered pop that the Five were famous for, with, maybe,
a tad more rocking and a tad less Elton John-ian
(Annie Waits, Fired, Rockin' The Suburbs).
His second solo, Songs For Silverman (Epic, 2005), was actually a trio
work. While graceful and intelligent, sound-wise it had little to add to
what Folds had already done with his Five.
Way To Normal (2008) was another experiment in how to age gracefully.
University A Cappella (2009) was recorded with various a-cappella
groups.
Lonely Avenue (2010) was a collaboration with novelist
Nick Hornby that yielded trivial songs that at best evoke mainstream pop
muzak (Belinda).
