Details
Track Listing
1. Bastard
2. You to Thank
3. Jesusland
4. Landed
5. Gracie
6. Trusted
7. Give Judy My Notice
8. Late
9. Sentimental Guy
10. Time
11. Prison Food
| Details | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: Ben Folds (vocals, piano); Jared Reynolds (vocals, bass instrument); Lindsay Jamieson (vocals, drums); Bucky Baxter (12-string guitar, pedal steel guitar); Ned Henry (violin); David Henry (cello); John Mark Painter (French horn, double bass); Al Yankovic, Frally Folds (background vocals).
Given his 2004 collaboration with William Shatner and his penchant for borderline-novelty tunes ("Army" and "Rockin' the Suburbs"), some might expect Ben Folds's second solo record, SONGS FOR SILVERMAN, to bask in outright silliness. While "Jesusland" contains sparkling moments of unsubtle irony ("beautiful McMansions on a hill"), the tune is actually a piercing, and often quite affectionate, appraisal of American hypocrisy, adorned by sweet melodies and soaring strings. And so it goes with SONGS FOR SILVERMAN, a thoroughly sober album overflowing with the sort of contemplative insight and orchestral, unforgettable pop mastery that Folds fans have come to expect.
Folds's personality pours into every story-song, particularly his tender and wonderfully non-saccharine ode to his daughter, "Gracie." On "Late," his pitch-perfect remembrance to the departed Elliott Smith, his onetime tour-mate, he open-heartedly reflects "Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar and some dirty basketball." When it comes to love, Folds peels the layers off its inherent neuroses like few peers, whether it's resurfacing from an absorbing relationship, as on the stirring single "Landed," or placing a bitter breakup against the unforgiving backdrop of eternity on "Time." SONGS FOR SILVERMAN continues Folds's ascendance towards the upper echelon of pop songwriters.
Industry Reviews
3 stars out of 5 - [T]hese songs' lush reimagining with a trio only puts their emotional alienation in starker relief.
3.5 stars out of 5 - [H]eartfelt, elaborately crafted....Folds never loses track of his pop hooks, even when he's deploying tricky time signatures and Steely Dan-worthy chord progressions.
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