Ben folds presents university a cappella zip

However, just as there are quality moments, some of the songs stumble due to unsuitable lead singers (вЂNot the SameвЂ™ and вЂBrickвЂ™ suffer the most from this) who, while doubtlessly having some vocal chops, just cannot capture the sound that Folds himself can, and they sometimes feel more vocal showpiece than well-constructed.

The covers of вЂMagicвЂ™ (from The Unauthorized BiographyвЂ¦ by Ben Folds Five) and вЂTimeвЂ™ (from Songs for Silverman) are the highlights, with the groups able to create a wonderful overall sound, replicating FoldsвЂ™ often insanely complex piano parts and the lead melodies with admirable accuracy and panache. The song selections themselves prove interesting as different groups create different sounds вЂ“ some use a beatboxer, some rely solely on singing whilst some opt for percussive basslines вЂ“ and try and recreate some wonderful tracks.ДЄ lot of enjoyment can defintely be garnered from this record, as the wonderful track listing plays almost like a Folds greatest hits, and those groups who really nail the songs make for sometimes beautiful, sometimes entertaining listening. ItвЂ™s certainly an interesting and diverse collection of songs, Folds himself appearing on several, but itвЂ™s a really mixed bag of the excellent and the average. Upon hearing that his tracks were popular with university (or вЂcollegeвЂ™ since theyвЂ™re American) a cappella groups, he sent out an invitation on his Facebook page for submissions of these songs to include on a new record. However, his latest release is a million miles from the other records heвЂ™s released solo. Since 2000 he has released a few solo records, and gained some mainstream airplay with the single вЂLandedвЂ™ from 2005вЂ™s Songs for Silverman. Folds was well-known as the brains behind of the excellent (and ironically named) three-piece Ben Folds Five who disbanded in 2000 after three excellent albums ( Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen and The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner), although they reformed for a one-off gig last year.

This is, after all, the guy whoвЂ™s done a piano-and-vocal cover of Snoop DoggвЂ™s вЂBitches AinвЂ™t ShitвЂ™. Folds, youвЂ™ll know that he has never been one for normality or someone whoвЂ™ll sacrifice an idea just because it may not sit well with some of his fans or detractors. This week, I have been listening to Ben FoldsвЂ latest quirky release, the interesting and unique Ben Folds Presents University A Cappella.ДЇor those familiar with Mr. Welcome to the inaugural edition of GettinвЂ™ Mad Spins, my own album of the week-style feature.

Ben folds presents university a cappella zip