Ben Folds Five

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Ben Folds FiveThe first effort by this bizarre trio wasn’t as cohesive as Whatever And Ever Amen, but still offers some of the band’s best ouput. “Best Imitation Of Myself” is a very upbeat, Jellyfish-esque pop tune, and the hilarious “Underground” offers a satirical take on the 1980s’ “I want to look/act/be different – just like everyone else!” wave of mass-nonconformity. But perhaps the greatest selling points of this album are the ballads “Alice Childress” and “Boxing”, the latter a bizarrely touching tale of the Rating: 3 out of 4symbiotic relationship of Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell. “Alice Childress” is a despairing fish-out-of-water story of a long distance friendship. Many of the other tunes, on the other hand, are almost too effervescent to distinguish themselves; the performances are more than satisfactory, but the songwriting was better honed on the next album.

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  1. Jackson Cannery (3:23)
  2. Philosophy (4:37)
  3. Julianne (2:31)
  4. Where’s Summer B.? (4:07)
  5. Alice Childress (4:35)
  6. Underground (4:11)
  7. Sports & Wine (2:58)
  8. Uncle Walter (3:52)
  9. Best Imitation Of Myself (2:38)
  10. Video (4:08)
  11. The Last Polka (4:34)
  12. Boxing (4:45)

Released by: Caroline
Release date: 1995
Total running time: 46:21

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