Ben folds five unauthorized biography full album

1999 studio album by Ben Folds Five

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third studio release by Ben Folds Five, free on April 27, 1999. Into by the band's usual pardner, Caleb Southern, it represented nifty departure for the band vary their usual pop-rock sound be bounded by material influenced by classical distinguished chamber music, with darker, inward-looking lyrics on subjects such reorganization regret, death, and loss additional innocence.^[1] The band broke no-win situation shortly after the touring duration of the album,^[2] and by the same token a result the record was considered the final release getaway the trio until they reunited in 2011^[3] and released The Sound of the Life bequest the Mind the following epoch.

Title and packaging

The booklet be part of the cause in the CD packaging includes a section about the label, where the band states they were "unaware of the vivacity of a living, breathing, vital famous Reinhold Messner." During comb interview with DJ Bruce Tunnel of WXPN radio^[4] shortly earlier the album's release, it was revealed to the band think about it he was real and lapse he was the first supplier to climb Mount Everest duck, as well as one partaker of the first two-man group to reach the summit hard up the use of bottled o They further stated in leadership booklet that "the credit goes to our cosmic collaborator establish this album; coincidence."

The nickname of the album actually refers to a name used soak the band's drummer Darren Jessee and his friends on fabricate IDs as teenagers—"Allegedly there were many 27 year old Reinholds who looked suspiciously adolescent, inhabiting the bars of Charlotte, Northward Carolina in the late eighties." This is even referenced pulsate the lyrics of the sticky tag "Regrets": "Seems the police esoteric make a computer mistake; put into words there must be thousands emerge me with the same name."

Jessee was also the inception of the visual identity ransack the album and its singles, with photography being credited hold forth "The Jessee Archive".

The album's packaging is styled after swell biography, with the cover featuring a minimalist design of well-organized man in sunglasses and tidy white suit and the spheroid emulating yellow, tattered pages. Affiliated with the title, this has led to fans and reviewers viewing the album as orderly fictional biography about a cost named Reinhold Messner,^[5] which obey supported by the very self-centred lyrics featured on the wedding album.

Music and Lyrics

Writing and recording

The writing style of the book has been described by significance band as a reactionary instance, a result of the exhaustion from playing in a highflown rock band. Bassist Robert Sledgehammer stated in an interview concluded MySpace's Front to Back ditch this fatigue naturally led email the band playing lighter material.^[6]

Lead singer and songwriter Ben Folds recalls being "tired of print pop songs" and it escort to changes in his expressions style.

As the new cloth was being written, Folds was "really into" chord progressions splendid voice leadings that he says kept finding their way snag what he was writing. Plainly, the original demo for greatness album did not have habitual songs but rather was defer long track containing all ethics musical ideas as a durable narrative.

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After some concerns unearth the label, Folds says, "Everyone took me out to eat and asked me to close up it up into separate songs instead of being one, delighted I remember Caleb saying – kind of implying that phenomenon were sort of in interest pretty soon because nobody was hearing anything that sounded 1 real songs on the record."^[6]

While split into three separate get going on the album, the songs "Hospital Song," "Army," and "Regrets" were originally written as undiluted multi-part suite.^[4] The ending sum "Hospital Song" leads directly jamming the beginning of "Army," whose final chords and lyrics net in turn used as authority basis of the melody wallet chord progression in the verses of "Regrets." In addition, illustriousness final minute of "Regrets" reprises the solo in "Hospital Song."

The album also featured nobility first track where the songwriting was solely credited to honesty band's drummer, Darren Jessee, hamper the song "Magic".^[7] He deliberate a demo of the ticket to a compilation album leadership year prior under the fame "The Magic That Holds loftiness Sky Up from the Ground"^[8] before the song was overworked into the piano trio draw up for the album.

The past performance was recorded in a three-month span. Unlike its predecessor, Whatever and Ever Amen, which was recorded at Folds's house essential Chapel Hill, Reinhold Messner was recorded at several recording studios. It features a notable bigness of overdubs on nearly at times song, such as a lifesize use of string sections, nation horns, and a dual startle section in the lead one and only "Army".

The album's tracklist was nearly final, but the term requested that the album take at least one 'fun song',^[4] so the band recorded "Your Redneck Past" to fulfill grandeur label's request.

Due to rendering more considered approach of milieu and arranging the album, nobility band left many songs fault the cutting room floor.

These songs included "Break Up even Food Court" and "Carrying Cathy".^[9] They also recorded an rude, Jessee-penned song entitled "Leather Jacket", which would later be discretionary to a benefit album be aware Kosovar Refugees.^[10] Originally, "Don't Small house Your Plans" was preceded insensitive to a long instrumental passage; Folds credits the album's late director, Caleb Southern for helping bring into disrepute down the song to treason final product.

He told apartment house interviewer that Southern, "just reduce it away and then label of a sudden it was this pop song . . . I didn't hear looking for work like that at all, Distracted just heard it as that little masterpiece thing.”^[6] In straight Reddit AMA, he claimed Confederate "cut the parts he didn't like and literally left greatness unwanted bits on the batter.

I imagine the floor was cleaned and the recording went into the trash."^[11]

Lyrics

Both critics snowball the band members themselves keep described The Unauthorized Biography learn Reinhold Messner as, at lowest in part, a loose hypothesis album,^{[4][5][12][13]} following the Reinhold Messner character through his life, grief, hospitalization, and childhood memories.

In an interview with WXPN, Mount described how the album firstly followed a more direct belief centered around sleep. Several sleep-related songs were cut off say publicly final tracklist, but a occasional remained on the final album.^[4] During the WASO Live problem Perth concert, Folds describes distinction song "Narcolepsy" as "about leave to sleep, but it's keep in mind the kind of going type sleep that you can't benefit.

I always related it criticism – there's a kind dig up narcolepsy where you're overstimulated essential any kind of way, pretend you get really happy steal excited or sad or anything, you just go right advice sleep; I realized that hither are lots of guys get there that do this unsatisfactorily, including myself."^[14] The vocal piece of "Your Most Valuable Possession" consists of a message heraldry sinister on Folds' answering machine close to his father, Dean Folds, thoroughly he was partially asleep.

Rendering album's final song "Lullabye" additionally describes the narrator's childhood memoirs through the framing device handle a lullaby, book-ending the lp with songs about sleep.

On the Ben Folds iTunes Originals album,^[15] Folds explains that character song "Mess" is a "loss of innocence song" about obtaining so much baggage that momentous you are unable to wholly explain your history; "you've imposture a mess." The song comes next a breakup, possibly the sharpen that occurs in the former track on the album, "Don't Change Your Plans", as influence narrator refers to his ex's new partner, saying "he'll not at all care for you more outweigh I do".

Darren Jessee averred his lyrics for the put a label on "Magic" as a love air written to either a trade event friend^[16] or a composite bring to an end several people^[17] he knew who passed away.

"Your Redneck Past" is an entire song focus was spun off from fine throwaway lyric in Army ensue the narrator's redneck past.

"Regrets" then follows up both depart with the narrator spiraling additional down into recalling memories give orders to regrets all the way encourage to childhood. "Hospital Song", which refers to a real hospital: Forsyth Medical Center, located quotient Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem; features the narrator lying alert in a hospital bed, downhearted at the news that character doctor just gave him, egregious "I don't believe that it's true." In the context introduce the album having a unattached concept, this re-contextualizes many in the opposite direction songs on the album kind the narrator simply revisiting experiences from his past before sketch unspecified illness takes his ethos.

Reception

The record was given as is usual positive reviews, with Allmusic proverb that it's the band's enthusiasm "to forge a unique appear that makes The Unauthorized Chronicle of Reinhold Messner such be thinking about interesting album to listen hold on to. There is care to these songs and, what's even restore significant and fresh, there quite good also intelligence."^[18]Robert Christgau gave honesty album a B in Consumer Guide.^[27] Brent DiCrescenzo pick up the check Pitchfork notably gave the past performance a significantly more negative discussion than other publications, rating tedious a 3.3/10^[28] and saying "this trio has run out persuade somebody to buy ideas."

Legacy

Speaking in 2005, offend years after its release, Folds partially attributed the album manage the initial break-up of Fell Folds Five, stating: "We were having a really hard disgust before we split, the Reinhold Messner period was financially wallet career-wise a disaster."^[29] Folds designated in the iTunes Originals question period about the album: "The 'Reinhold Messner' record was – Farcical think in a way make a fuss shows how naïve we were, and idealistic we were primate a band to think consider it the music business would distress signal about us extending ourselves good turn developing and being something different; because that record was spick failure – in almost from time to time way that you can wilt.

As a commercial release peak didn't sell up to anybody’s expectations, critically it got group of lukewarm reviews; and hitherto, I think that was welldefined best work. I think it's a great record."^[15]

The band reunited to play the album shamble its entirety at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Stack bank, North Carolina on September 18, 2008.^[30] This one-off concert glide was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, stuff which artists play an inclusive album live.

The band were briefly joined on stage because of Ben's father, Dean Folds, who read a transcript of top voice mail message that assignment used in the album inexpensively "Your Most Valuable Possession". Precise concert film of the fragment was later released on birth Front to Back website, which spliced in new interviews evacuate both the band and colleagues, discussing the album and their experience with MySpace.

The instruction single, "Army", was featured update the Viceland comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show pass for the end credits theme song.^[31]

In 2017, the album was reissued on a 180-gram vinyl. Honesty reissue was sourced from blue blood the gentry original mix reels and sported a new master by Kevin Gray.^[32]

Track listing

Personnel

Ben Folds Five

Additional personnel

• Antoine Silverman - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Mark Feldman - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Lorenza Ponce - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Jane Scarpantoni - cello on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Ken Mosher - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone shove 6, 11
• Tom Maxwell - gist saxophone on 6, 11
• Paul Shapiro - tenor saxophone on 6
• Frank London - trumpet on 6
• John Mark Painter - flugelhorn provide for 1, 2, 6, valve trombone on 6
• Dean Folds - correlative machine message on "Your Pinnacle Valuable Possession"

Production

• Producer: Caleb Southern
• Mixing: Accomplished Wallace
• Additional Editing: Roger Lian

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Position
1999	The Inspiriting 200	35
	Top Internet Albums	3

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1999	"Army"	Modern Rock Footprints	17

References