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Track Listings
| 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 |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Songs for Silverman--recorded expeditiously over a six week stint in Nashville with the emphasis solidly on capturing the veracity of the performance--is only the second solo album from waggish power-pop pianist Ben Folds since the disbandment of his famed former "nerd rock" trio Ben Folds Five. This time it's serious. Although prior comparisons to such a luminary as Randy Newman can never be considered disparaging, Folds' penchant for hanging out with wacky musical pals (William Shatner, Weird Al Yankovic) and for generally sounding rather facetious has seen him tarred with the same smarty-pants brush otherwise bandied around in the direction of pranksters like Barenaked Ladies. Finally, though, Fold's sounds less like a man who knows all the answers and more like someone who knows how to ask all the right questions. Displacement, estrangement, disorientation; Songs for Silverman picks up on the loneliness and brevity of life (one song mourns the loss of his friend, the late Elliott Smith) and lightens the burden with the kind of very fine pop music espoused by Squeeze and Fountains of Wayne. To wit, the superbly tragic-comic "You to Thank" casts Folds as the protagonist in a hopelessly premature teen marriage while "Bastard" castigates the willingness of youth to squander their blithe adolescence in the fast-track pursuit of adulthood. Even when Folds' fondly addresses his baby daughter on the Joe Jackson-flavoured "Gracie" ("Life flies by in seconds, you're not a baby Gracie, you're my friend") it's with a sense that nothing any good lasts long enough. Unlike this record, of course, which is to be savoured more with every play. --Kevin Maidment
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ben is back,
By
This review is from: Songs For Silverman (Audio CD)
Songs for Silverman, Folds' second albumn away from the Five is a move on from Rockin' The Suburbs. This albumn is more considered and more mature. Folds has took a step away from the irreverant wit I love, but he has moved on to songs that are just as pleasing to the ear. Songs like Landed and You To Thank, show although Folds has moved more towards an adult- contemporary style, he can still knock out a great tune. Personally my favourite song on the albumn is Gracie, a touching, sweet song, about his baby daughter. it always leaves a big smile on my face and lines like "you got your mommas taste but you got my mouth" and endlessly quotable. This is a complete albumn and one that will please old and new Folds fans alike. There isn't one bad song on the albumn, but the first 7 tracks are all uniformly exceptional. Buy it, so I can live happily knowing Folds is being recognised as the major talent he is, still escapes me how he isn't huge!!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stonking tunes, Eloquent lyrics, Same old Folds,
This review is from: Songs For Silverman (Audio CD)
Songs for Silverman is a great album. FULL STOP. His best yet? I'm not sure - I'll have to see whether I return to it in ten years time. From the first track this album delivers some of Ben Fold's most complex and stirring melodies of his career. Everyone keeps saying its more "grown-up", which to me sounds like damning with faint praise; one of the things I have loved most about his previous albums is his supreme musical capability, mixed with an infantile sense of mischief. It doesn't have those lyrically subversive songs such as One Angry Dwarf, or Rockin' the Suburbs, but instead Fold's playfulness is channelled into the spontaneous weaving of melody, harmony and rhythm which makes each song totally distinctive. Like in The Ascent of Stan, ******* is a letter to growing old and those who value maturity above living in the moment. As with so many of Ben Fold's songs, surface vitriol covers a pre-eminent wiseness, and ******* addresses all those who grow old too fast and embrace empty nostalgia all too readily. Whilst not my favourite song on the album (and there are many to choose from - Jesusland coming out on top), I think it embodies the tension of Fold's developing style, and his resolution to remain free spirited. Trusted is a far more measured reaction to an event where he may previously have shouted "*****" and asked for his T-shirt back, but hey, if he stayed the same, we wouldn't have so many diverse albums to enjoy over again. Tune after tune, this album cries out to be turned up loud, Landed is fantastic, and Late softens the sinews in a way that hasn't be equalled since Brick. His ability to tell stories and create characters is still inspiring, and his live performances are electric (see him wherever, whenever you can). Why he isn't more popular, I will never know, but as long as there are a few people appreciating his brilliance, Ben Folds will continue to make music with which you can grown old, and remain forever young. Buy it!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How does he do it?,
This review is from: Songs For Silverman [CD + DVD] (Audio CD)
Every time I get a new Ben Folds album, I wonder if it can possibly be as good as the ones preceding it. Yet, he managed it with every Ben Folds Five album, and has with every solo album since. Songs for Silverman is instantly loveable with excellent tracks throughout. I'm reluctant to select single tracks for praise, as this would be a disservice to tracks not mentioned. Although if I may, 'Gracie' written about Folds' five year old daughter is beautiful. Any Ben Folds fan will love this album, but I also feel people who perhaps haven't enjoyed his earlier records will too. Songs for Silverman sees Folds in a more harmonious mood, seemingly very content with life. This fresh outlook produces a brilliant album, both musically and lyrically. The bonus DVD contains some interesting interviews and behind the scenes footage, it's definitely worth the extra money.
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