Album Review: Ben Folds - Way to Normal

Musically, there are two sides to singer/songwriter Ben Folds: either you get the sincere, solemn songs that harvest strong emotions such as "Brick" or "Landed"; or you get the silly, off-kilter comedy songs that make people laugh but don't generally do much else such as "Song for the Dumped" and "Rockin' the Suburbs."

After 2004's Songs for Silverman was created using largely the former, the critical backlash caused Folds to make his newest release, September's Way to Normal, filled to the brim with the comedy that got him notice in the first place. The problem with going back to his roots in this case is that, when placed side by side with his serious songs, his comedy material just doesn't seem to hold water. By having two incredibly moving ballads on his latest release, the rest of the album tends to suffer in comparison.

The album starts off well enough: "Hiroshima" and "Dr. Yang" are silly songs that sound good and flow well, although "Dr. Yang" suffers from too much going on musically. "You Don't Know Me" is also a good song that both meanders silliness and respectability and also features Regina Spektor's wonderful vocals, and the following "Cologne" and its intro make the first half of this album incredibly strong.

However, after "Cologne," which is a beautifully painful ballad, we are treated to two songs that, after following such a strong and serious song, fall short. "Errant Dog" and "Free Coffee" just don't have the same strong music that the first few songs do, and the content is simply lacking. "Free Coffee" is not only about nothing but trivial matters, it also has an annoying effect that Folds created by putting metal on top of the piano strings and distorting the notes. The result is less than listenable.

"Kylie From Connecticut" is another song that shows where Ben Folds strength really lies and is a fantastic song to close out the album. However, with the two songs shining as highlights on the album, all of the other songs that fail to reach the same sort of stature just look that much worse next to them. It has gotten to the point where I only want to hear three or four songs on the album, and it is only the fact that these songs are so good that the album is worth listening to.

Scoring:

Replayability: (16/20) As stated, this city is worth listening to for "You Don't Know Me," "Cologne," "Kylie Connecticut," and occasionally "Bitch Went Nuts," which doesn't fail to make me laugh. Otherwise, the songs just don't measure up.

Music: (16/20) Ben Folds is without doubt a wonderful piano player, and in several songs his skills are on display. However, the effects in songs like "Dr. Yang" and "Free Coffee" ruin the songs.

Lyrics: (15/20) This is a case of two Ben Folds as well: in the two serious songs his lyrics are poignant and thoughtful. However, in the other songs it seems he sort of just settles for whatever lyrics he could think of.

Completeness: (15/20) The CD flows well enough until tracks 7 and 8, where it slows down to a halt and then limps slowly to the big finale of "Kylie From Connecticut." Add in the fact that most of the songs are inherently skippable, the entire product isn't exactly complete.

Emotional Pull: (16/20) Again, what the rest of the album lacks in emotional content, "Cologne" and "Kylie" make up for in spades.

Total Scoring: 78

Grade: C+

The more I talk about the two serious songss, the more I realize that Songs for Silverman wasn't nearly as bad as the rap it received, and that maybe Folds gets attention for the wrong type of music. At the very least, if he wants to make an album that is more comedic, he'd be better off making it entirely so as not to run this risk of some songs far outshining others.

Check, Check Plus, X
Hiroshima √
Dr Yang √
The Frown Song √
You Don’t Know Me √+
Before Cologne √
Cologne √+
Errant Dog X
Free Coffee X
The Bitch Went Nuts √
Brainwascht √
Effington √
Kylie from Connecticut √+


Happy New Years, everyone! I hope 2009 is good to everyone, and I hope it continues the good luck I've had in 2008. One thing's for sure: tons of new music to look forward to. Everyone have a good one.

Sit tight til the next grade,
RRC