Ben Folds Five (album)

Ben Folds Five is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, released on August 8, 1995. A non-traditional rock album, it featured an innovative indie-pop sound, and excluded lead guitars completely.[1] The album was released on the small independent label Passenger Records, owned by Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI. Ben Folds Five received positive reviews, and spawned five singles. The record failed to chart, but sparked an intense bidding war eventually won by Sony Music.[2] Several live versions of songs originally released on Ben Folds Five reappeared later as b-sides or on compilations.

Ben Folds Five
Studio album by
Ben Folds Five
ReleasedAugust 8, 1995
RecordedFebruary 1995
StudioWave Castle, North Carolina
Genre
Length46:14
LabelPassenger
ProducerCaleb Southern
Ben Folds Five chronology
Ben Folds Five
(1995)		 Whatever and Ever Amen
(1997)
Singles from Ben Folds Five
  1. "Jackson Cannery"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Underground"
    Released: April 8, 1996
  3. "Where's Summer B.?"
    Released: June 7, 1996
  4. "Philosophy"
    Released: 1996
  5. "Uncle Walter"
    Released: 1996

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Drowned in Sound9/10[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
Houston Chronicle[7]
NME9/10[8]
Pitchfork9.6/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]

Ben Folds Five received positive reviews from NME, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Entertainment Weekly. Michael Gallucci praised the album as "a potent, and extremely fun collection of postmodern rock ditties that comes off as a pleasantly workable combination of Tin Pan Alley showmanship, Todd Rundgren-style power pop, and myriad alt-rock sensibilities."[1] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice selected "Boxing" as a "choice cut".[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Folds, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Jackson Cannery" 3:23
2."Philosophy" 4:36
3."Julianne" 2:30
4."Where's Summer B.?"Folds, Darren Jessee4:07
5."Alice Childress"Folds, Anna Goodman4:34
6."Underground" 4:11
7."Sports & Wine" 2:58
8."Uncle Walter" 3:51
9."Best Imitation of Myself" 2:38
10."Video" 4:07
11."The Last Polka"Folds, Anna Goodman4:34
12."Boxing" 4:45

Personnel

Production
  • Producer: Caleb Southern
  • Mixing: Marc Becker
  • Photography: Alexandria Searls

Charts

References
  1. Gallucci, Michael. "Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds Five". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  2. Kurutz, Steve. Ben Folds Five at AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. Stewart, Allison (November 30, 1995). "Ben Folds Five: Ben Folds Five (Caroline)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  4. Smith, Jon (November 29, 2001). "Album Review: Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds Five". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Ben Folds Five". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  6. Mirkin, Steven (July 28, 1995). "Ben Folds Five". Entertainment Weekly. p. 62. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  7. Arnold, Gina (August 13, 1995). "Ben Folds Five Is Catchy and Fresh". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  8. "Ben Folds Five: Ben Folds Five". NME. April 27, 1996. p. 53.
  9. Schreiber, Ryan. "Ben Folds Five: Ben Folds Five". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 11, 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  10. Cohen, Jason (October 5, 1995). "Ben Folds: Ben Folds Five". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  11. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Ben Folds Five". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. Christgau, Robert. "Ben Folds Five: Ben Folds Five". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  13. "australian-charts.com Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  14. "ベン・フォールズ・ファイヴ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Ben Folds Five by Ben Folds Five]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  15. "RIAJ > The Record > May 1997 > Certified Awards (March 1997)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
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