Ben Folds Live

Ben Folds is perhaps the heir apparent to Billy Joel and Elton John, a guy who makes piano music. A lot of his stuff is pretty catchy, and so it's not surprising that if you like either Joel or John (note that Folds doesn't work as a first name), then you'd probably like Ben Folds.

Ben Folds used to have a band, which was called Ben Folds Five, which, given the verb-like nature of his last name, had me thinking he was doing origami (or making a fist). It didn't occur to me, for a long time, that Folds was actually his last name.

Anyway, I had a few Ben Folds CDs, but not his live album, which I just received today. Amazon reviews say it's an amazing CD, even if you don't like Ben Folds.

But the question is how can it be that amazing? Especially if you don't like him? Did he play the piano like Rachmaninoff? Did his voice become the male equivalent of Celine Dion? Did he just do covers of bands that people like better?

Spoilers ahead if you want to be surprised at what Ben Folds does on this CD.

Ben Folds...interacts. That's it. His fans love his music so much that they know how to sing along, providing a choral effect. This audience participation, almost unheard of in most bands, can be captured on a CD more readily than, say, a stage performance with laser lights, and precision dancers, and moonwalking.

The effect of listening to the audience sing along is absolutely captivating. It's impressive how he's able to do this. He even does an impromptu song based on comments from the audience.

Folds is a bit of a manipulator. Some of his plunkings head to discordant territory, as he presses random notes, realizing that it causes a cringing effect, then heads back to a catchy melody. But that's probably the key to any pop musician. You try to write tunes people will like, and a large number of people at that.

And Ben Folds does something that no popular singer outside of, well, rappers do. He swears in his songs. Hmm, that may have something to do with why he isn't heard more often, even if it seems to enhance the listenership by rap fans. But it's almost like being a geek, and hanging out with other geeks, and most of you are good kids, but this one guy, who seems like a leader swears, and you think, yeah, that is so cool. Even if it isn't.

And of course, since his song is so catchy, he gets the audience to sing along, and that's grand manipulation, but heck, that's what makes his CD so good. They join along, and for a moment, you don't care that he's doing what he does because you are in the moment, you are willing to be lead, you're falling under Ben Folds' spell.

The funny thing, I suppose, is that as good as Ben Folds is, he's still practically unknown. Billy Joel and Elton John are far, far, far better known than Ben Folds. Why that is, I can't quite say. In my mind, his tunes are at least as catchy, his piano prowess as accomplished, his voice as melodic as either of them. I'm sure his fans would agree.

Anyway, if you want to get a live album, or haven't heard Ben Folds before, pick up his live CD, Ben Folds Live.