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 An Essential Album Nov 05, 2009
Buoyed by the success of the song "Brick," Whatever And Ever Amen went on to be Ben Folds Five's best selling album by a landslide. And why not? The album contains the most diverse collection of songs that the band wrote (with Folds of course at the helm) while they were together. Tongue-in-cheek bubblegum pop (Kate), a very mature take on forgetting the past (Smoke), songs that dabble in jazz styles (Selfless, Cold, And Composed, and Steven's Last Night In Town), and a raw, candid examination of one's self (Evaporated). The bonus tracks on this re-mastered edition are just icing on the cake as they say. Though I recommend their self-titled debut for an introduction to the band (and really, it's great to listen to their albums sequentially as you can really see the growth in their songwriting), you certainly can't go wrong with WAEA.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Ben Folds! Give me my money back, you bitch! Nov 22, 2007
Just kidding! I love this CD! Although the additional content on this reissue content was best saved for a LP cause it's kinda sort of buying a nice steak and getting taffy and cotton candy on there too. If you don't mind skipping the occasional odd track, there are some on there that will blow you away. Take a chance and buy this CD.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Piano pop. Apr 22, 2007
I had heard their song "Air" on the Godzilla soundtrack I had on cassette when I was in elementary school (don't ask me why I owned it). That song was pretty cool but I didn't really start listening to them. I strayed away from them, actually, because a local artist in my area sounds just like them (and I wasn't a fan of that local artist). It wasn't until a few weeks ago when I heard "Song For The Dumped." That hooked me in. After buying this album I was pleased to see the bonus b-sides they included. Like a lounge version of "She Don't Use Jelly" (originally by The Flaming Lips). All in all, very catchy piano pop.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
And don't forget to give me back my black t-shirt Apr 10, 2007
Ben Folds' major label debut was a near perfect zinger of power-pop, influenced by everyone from Elton John to Todd Rundgren to The Raspberries. Smart and nerdy and deftly walking the tightrope between the two extremes, "Whatever and Ever Amen" was a CD that took the starch out of angsty grunge and depressing emo-pop.
Fold's newly minted celebrity is given a revenge-of-the-nerds bashing in "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," as an Elton-styled piano riff floats along under the lyric "if you really want to see me check the papers and the TV/Look who's telling who what to do." Even nastier in the smackdown dept is "Song For The Dumped," where the jilted Folds gives one of the most riotous kiss-offs in pop history. Since the punch line would get my review booted, I won't repeat it here. Just suffice it to say that every geeky guy that got dumped just as you thought you were king of the world will get a good laugh from this particular song.
But Folds also was developing the serious side that eventually blossomed in full on his terrific "Rockin' the Suburbs." "Whatever and Ever Amen" broke through on the strength of "Brick," which chronicled a crushed boyfriend as he takes his pregnant girlfriend to an abortion clinic. The most amazing thing about "Brick" is its utter lack of judgmental tone. It is a classic, and easily one of the best - if not the most unlikely - hit singles of the 90's.
Folds doesn't always hit the bull's-eye, as "Steven's Last Night In Town" and "Cigarette" show. But for most of the original CD's 12 songs, Folds was showing he could put snap into his eclectic brand of pop. As for the bonus material, well, there was a reason they were B-sides. The bands' run through "Video Killed The Radio Star" is pretty good, but The Flaming Lips cover pales after a few listens. Instrumentals and band conversation do not qualify as a "bonus" to me. And if the best you can add is a non-sense take of "Song For the Dumped," then spare me the added material. It's just a distraction from a really great album. Burn yourself the remaster minus the added tracks. You'll enjoy it more.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Fantastic! Mar 09, 2007
Ben Folds/Five are one of the few artists (out of tons of genres that I like to listen to) that have risen to the top of the must-have-in-my-library list. This CD is worth more than it costs.
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