Ben Folds has never been one to shy away from a bizarre idea. Sometimes, like his piano ballad cover of N.W.A.'s "Bitches Ain't Shit", work incredibly well. So how will his latest concept, University a Cappella, (sic) fair?
To assemble the new album, Folds travelled university campuses throughout the eastern seaboard, getting vocal groups to record cover versions of his songs.
It's remarkable how well suited Folds' songs are for a Capella singing. Most of these groups make the songs sound fuller, more lush, and more elegant than the originals could ever have hoped.
Most surprising is the number of different styles that fall within the realm of a Capella. We get versions that include beatbox ("Not the Same"), choral ("Magic"), barber shop ("Landed") and more. "You Don't Know Me" sounds as though it was sung by door-to-door Christmas Carollers, while the Leading Tones give "Brick" a soulful Boyz II Men makeover.
Folds himself takes a couple of hacks at it. Doing all the vocal parts himself, he re-imagines his own "Boxing" and "Effington".
Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it University a Cappella is a novelty album. And by the half-way point in the record that novelty has worn dangerously thin. Folds really should have stuck to an EP.
Best tracks: "Brick", "The Luckiest"
Track listing for University a Cappella!:
- Not the Same
- Jesusland
- Brick
- You Don't Know Me
- Still Fighting It
- Boxing
- Selfless, Cold and Composed
- Magic
- Landed
- Time
- Effington
- Evaporated
- Fred Jones Pt 2
- Army
- Fair
- The Luckiest
5.0/10
3 praise/complaints:
Loving some of the tracks on this album - the arrangement of Selfless, Cold and Composed is stunning. Fred Jones Part II, however, makes for uncomfortable listening and simply doesn't work with a female lead. Not this time anyway.
Loving some of the tracks on this album - the arrangement of Selfless, Cold and Composed is stunning. Fred Jones Part II, however, makes for uncomfortable listening and simply doesn't work with a female lead. Not this time anyway.
If you like Ben Folds you need to check out Phil Ayoub. Providence rocker Phil Ayoub has some new music on the way. Titled “Arrivals and Departures”, the record will be released in the next month or so. In the meantime, visit Phil’s website and check out the song “Flowers at Work”. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the digital download sales went to the American Red Cross to aid victims of this years earthquake in Haiti. Check out more at illuminarecords.com
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