BEN FOLDS: BEN FOLDS LIVE (2002)
1) One Angry Dwarf And 200
Solemn Faces; 2) Zak And Sara; 3) Silver Street; 4) Best Imitation Of Myself;
5) Not The Same; 6) Jane; 7) One Down; 8) Fred Jones, Pt. 2; 9) Brick; 10)
Narcolepsy; 11) Army; 12) The Last Polka; 13) Tiny Dancer; 14) Rock This Bitch;
15) Philosophy; 16) The Luckiest; 17) Emaline.
Given the good reputation of Ben Folds Five as
a live performing unit, it seems a wee bit strange that Ben procrastinated so
long with an official live album — long enough for the band to disperse. On
the other hand, putting out a predictable live album is sort of a routine
affair; Ben Folds Live opts for the
harsher scenario, presenting Ben Folds as a very literally solo artist — just
the man and his piano. With the exception of John McCrea stepping out on the
stage for a sec to sing the additional vocal part on ʽFred Jonesʼ (reprising
his role on the studio album), Ben and only Ben is here to hold your attention
for about seventy minutes.
The related question seems obvious, and if you
can answer it in the positive, this alone justifies the existence of the album.
Few pop artists dare to venture out in the cold with nothing but their piano
(even Carole King prefers to have at least a bass player and an acoustic
guitarist at her side), seeing as how their audiences prefer to get a little
something extra as well for their money. And, after all, Ben Folds is no
Horowitz when it comes to making piano magic, so the potential for boredom could
be quite high even if he only concentrated on the hooky highlights.
It does
get a bit boring from time to time, for sure; the good news is that Ben's
studio charisma freely spills over onto the stage, and he does his best to
provide intelligent entertainment, mixed with enough friendliness and humor to
make it all seem like a house party — one where the invited piano player quite
unexpectedly turned out to be so much
better you'd think he'd be, he immediately becomes the focus of attention for
the entire evening. Not only does he play and sing every bit as good as on the
studio records (no slacking allowed whatsoever), but he finds time and strength
to improvise, to tell stories, to lead the audience in rather non-trivial
singalongs, to pay tribute to some of his idols, and even to torture his piano
a little bit (fortunately, not on the brutal level of Keith Emerson, but in a
more overtly melodic manner).
When necessary, he can rock his piano hard
enough for us to forget the lack of extra stage hands — ʽOne Angry Dwarfʼ goes
off like a hot set of firecrackers, and so does ʽArmyʼ in the middle of the
set. But he can also be less-than-serious about it: ʽRock This Bitchʼ is a
one-minute long improvisation, taking as its base the possibly-drunk yelling
of one of the fans — you can either take it as a silly, failed joke, or as a
thinly veiled hint at what Ben Folds really
thinks about the stereotypical «rock'n'roll mentality». Since the joke stuck (Ben
went on to improvies various versions of ʽRock This Bitchʼ on subsequent
tours), he probably thought it was coolly ironic, although, much to his honor,
he eventually got bored with having to go through the same stupid ritual over
and over again.
Other non-standard points of interest include:
(a) Ben leading the people in some fairly complex sing-along activities on
ʽArmyʼ, where he does need someone to fill in for the brass section; (b) Ben
covering Elton John's ʽTiny Dancerʼ — great song, faithful and inspired
performance, but, unfortunately, it also reminds very acutely of what it is
that separates a fabulous singer from a merely competent one (referring, of
course, to Elton's original singing
voice); (c) Ben adding a lengthy improvised section to ʽPhilosophyʼ, including
using the piano as a percussive instrument, playing the piano strings directly,
throwing in a bit of ʽMisirlouʼ, and culminating with a touch of ʽRhapsody In
Blueʼ; (d) Ben finishing the show with ʽEmalineʼ, an obscure — but, frankly
speaking, not too memorable — tune from his early songwriting days as the
leader of «Majosha», a short-lived band from 1988-89 that only managed one
short album.
In between, you get a solid share of Ben Folds
Five classics, interspersed with songs from Rockin' The Suburbs, a couple rarities, and a few anecdotes dealing
with the origins of ʽNot The Sameʼ, ʽBrickʼ, and others. If you are real lucky,
you can also end up with the limited edition that comes with a small DVD — where
you can see for yourself that Ben Folds wears a bowler hat, plays a Baldwin,
and does somewhat resemble a young
Elton John (the latter point makes me a little uneasy about the future, but at
least the man seems to lead a healthier lifestyle). All in all, it's not a
must-have or anything, but the general quality is quite high, and there are
enough of those little extra touches that guarantee a little intrigue. Thumbs up.
Check "Ben Folds Live" (CD) on Amazon
No comments:
Post a Comment