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The follow-up to the popular Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five's third LP, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner, continues the eclectic and clever songwriting that has become the group's trademark. Like other piano-based rock composers such as Randy Newman and Todd Rundgren, principal songwriter and de facto leader Ben Folds combines an off-beat world view with equally off-kilter musical arrangements to create a thoroughly original sound. The pseudo-lounge break in "Regrets," for example, or the downright silliness of "Your Redneck Past" set the Ben Folds Five apart from the hundreds of soundalike bands that the group competes with for radio space. What makes Ben Folds Five, and The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner, relevant is their willingness to take musical risks, an anomaly in today's scene. On an album where there is a lack of instantly catchy hooks, Folds has the audacity to add a bizarre Burt Bacharach-ish horn section to "Don't Change Your Plans," one of the few radio-friendly tracks on the album. And in "Most Valuable Possession," the band uses studio trickery and an answering machine message left by Folds' father to create a bizarre spoken word pastiche. It is this willingness to forge a unique sound that makes The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner such an interesting album to listen to. There is care to these songs and, what's even more significant and fresh, there is also intelligence.
© Steve Kurutz /TiVo
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Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - John Mark Painter, Flugelhorn - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - John Mark Painter, Flugelhorn - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Composer - Darren Jessee, Lyricist - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Roger Lian, Edited By - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Paul Shapiro, Tenor Saxophone - Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Ken Mosher, Alto Saxophone - Ken Mosher, Baritone Saxophone - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Tom Maxwell, Tenor Saxophone - Ben Folds Five, Performer - John Mark Painter, Trombone - John Mark Painter, Flugelhorn - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer - Frank London, Trumpet
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Roger Lian, Edited By - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Dean Folds, Composer - Dean Folds, Lyricist - Robert Sledge, Composer - Robert Sledge, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Composer - Darren Jessee, Lyricist - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Composer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer - Caleb Southern, Lyricist
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Roger Lian, Edited By - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Anna Goodman, Composer - Anna Goodman, Lyricist - Andy Wallace, Mixing Engineer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Jane Scarpantoni, Acoustic Cello - Ken Mosher, Alto Saxophone - Ken Mosher, Baritone Saxophone - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Roger Lian, Edited By - Tom Maxwell, Tenor Saxophone - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Lorenza Ponce, Violin - Mark Feldman, Violin - Antoine Silverman, Violin - Caleb Southern, Producer - Caleb Southern, Recording Engineer
(P) 1999 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
The follow-up to the popular Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five's third LP, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner, continues the eclectic and clever songwriting that has become the group's trademark. Like other piano-based rock composers such as Randy Newman and Todd Rundgren, principal songwriter and de facto leader Ben Folds combines an off-beat world view with equally off-kilter musical arrangements to create a thoroughly original sound. The pseudo-lounge break in "Regrets," for example, or the downright silliness of "Your Redneck Past" set the Ben Folds Five apart from the hundreds of soundalike bands that the group competes with for radio space. What makes Ben Folds Five, and The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner, relevant is their willingness to take musical risks, an anomaly in today's scene. On an album where there is a lack of instantly catchy hooks, Folds has the audacity to add a bizarre Burt Bacharach-ish horn section to "Don't Change Your Plans," one of the few radio-friendly tracks on the album. And in "Most Valuable Possession," the band uses studio trickery and an answering machine message left by Folds' father to create a bizarre spoken word pastiche. It is this willingness to forge a unique sound that makes The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner such an interesting album to listen to. There is care to these songs and, what's even more significant and fresh, there is also intelligence.
© Steve Kurutz /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:40:24
- Main artists: Ben Folds Five
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: 550 Music
- Genre: Pop/Rock
1999 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
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