Hearing the CD open to the jazz/rock chords of One Angry Dwarf is definitely a joy. If you weren't paying attention, you are now. I found that this CD gives a really good insight into what Ben Folds sounds like live: witty, inspiring, and downright brilliant. However, whilst the quality of the music is good, I was somewhat let down by some of the tracklist. There are favourites such as One Angry Dwarf and Philosophy, but some of his most popular songs, such as Rockin the Suburbs were missing, with more mediocre songs such as Narcolepsy put in their place. Despite this, the CD is still brilliant, with insightful comments about the songs given by Ben Folds himself, witty improvisation in songs such as Rock This Bitch, and some entertaining audience participation in Army. The bonus DVD is also definitely worth the money - hearing Ben Folds playing live is great, but seeing him as well is even better! Seeing his antics on stage will allow you to see another side to this multi-faceted character, a side I for one enjoyed seeing! By no means think that you will just be hearing songs exactly as they were on previous albums - Ben Folds adds a twist to the songs on this album that shows you an entirely different side to them, for example in Song for the Dumped on the DVD. Although the tracklist isn't as good as it could have been, Ben Folds Live is definitely worth it if you want to hear some great, witty, live piano rock performed by a true genius! The CD contains the songs: One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces, Zak and Sara, Silver Street, Best Imitation of Myself, Not the Same, Jane, One Down, Fred Jones Part 2, Brick, Narcolepsy, Army, The Last Polka, Tiny Dancer, Rock This Bitch, Philosophy, The Luckiest, Emaline. The DVD contains: Not The Same, Philosophy, Army, Album Art Antics, Eddie Walker, The Ascent of Stan, Tiny Dancer, Song for the Dumped.
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Advantages: Quirky and original, both witty and touching, Ben Folds Disadvantages: Not to everyone's taste, I'm told the other albums weren't so good so you might not be able to build up a great BF5 collection
Jul 23rd, 2006
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