Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group's members are Ben Folds, Robert Sledge, and Darren Jessee. The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes. Their single "Brick" from the 1997 album Whatever and Ever Amen gained airplay on many mainstream radio stations. During their first seven years together, the band released three proper studio records, one retrospective album of B-sides and outtakes, and eight singles. They also contributed to a number of soundtracks and compilations. Ben Folds Five disbanded in October 2000. They reunited in 2011, and released their fourth album The Sound of the Life of the Mind in 2012.
Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer and record producer. Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again in the early 2010s during their reunion. Apart from the band, Folds has recorded several albums and performed live as a solo artist. He has also collaborated with musicians such as William Shatner, Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. He has frequently performed arrangements of his music with uncommon instrumentation, including symphony orchestras and a cappella groups. In addition to contributing music to the soundtracks of the animated films Hoodwinked!, and Over the Hedge, Folds has produced several albums, including Amanda Palmer's first solo album.
Whatever and Ever Amen is the second album by Ben Folds Five, released in 1997. A remaster was made available on March 22, 2005. All of the extra tracks had been previously released except for a cover of the Buggles song "Video Killed the Radio Star," which is a staple of Ben Folds Five's live show.
Darren Michael Jessee is an American drummer, songwriter and singer best known as a member of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five. Jessee has also worked as an instrumentalist for Sharon Van Etten and Hiss Golden Messenger and released four albums as singer and songwriter for indie band Hotel Lights. His first solo album, The Jane, Room 217, was released on August 24th, 2018, to near-universal acclaim from critics.
Ben Folds Five is the self-titled debut studio album by American alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, released in 1995. A non-traditional rock album, it featured an innovative indie-pop sound, and excluded lead guitars completely. The album was released on the small independent label Passenger Records, owned by Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI. Ben Folds Five received positive reviews, and spawned five singles. The record failed to chart, but sparked an intense bidding war eventually won by Sony Music. Several live versions of songs originally released on Ben Folds Five reappeared later as b-sides or on compilations.
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third studio album by Ben Folds Five, released April 27, 1999.
Ben Folds Live is a live album by Ben Folds, released on October 8, 2002. This album marked the first official release of the Ben Folds' improvisation, "Rock This Bitch". The song, which changes with every performance, is now a staple of his live performances, with recorded versions also appears on his later albums Songs for Goldfish and on the Live in Perth DVD.
John Alagia is a three-time Grammy-nominated, American record producer, composer, mixer and co-founder of Drive Music. Alagia has worked with artists including Lukas Nelson, Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Serena Ryder, Brett Dennen, Rachael Yamagata, Ben Folds, Lifehouse and many others.
"Bombers" is the second single by Tubeway Army, released in 1978. The song is in a somewhat more conventional rock style than their punk-oriented debut, "That's Too Bad", and features sound effects simulating air raid sirens, dive bombers, and machine gun fire. Like its predecessor, the single earned indifferent reviews and failed to chart. It is one of the few recordings in his career which Numan did not produce himself.
Speed Graphic is the first of a three-EP series released by Ben Folds in 2003. It included a cover of "In Between Days". It also included a piano and vocal arrangement of "Give Judy My Notice", which would later appear on Songs for Silverman in a rearranged full-band version. The final three tracks were written a long time before this release. Two of those songs, "Protection" and "Dog" have floated around as bootlegged early demos for years, and the other one, "Wandering", was never available in any format previously, and was written by Ben Folds and his fellow Ben Folds Five bandmate, Darren Jessee.
Risen is the third album released by O.A.R.. Released in 2001, it was the first O.A.R. album to be produced by John Alagia. The CD debuted on the Billboard Charts Internet Sales: #11 and the Billboard Top New Artists: #66. Several of the tracks are re-recorded songs from previous albums.
Wild Hope is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mandy Moore, her first in four years Coverage (2003). It was released in digitally in Australia on June 18, 2007, and on June 19, 2007 by The Firm Music, a division of EMI USA. The Australian digital version had the bonus track "Swept Away". The album was released in Australia physically on February 23, 2008. Counting her compilation and cover albums, it is Moore's seventh album and her first to be fully co-written by her.
No Boundaries: A Benefit For The Kosovar Refugees is a benefit album released on June 15, 1999 by Epic Records featuring a handful of various artists to help raise money for Kosovars sent by aeroplane to Australia during the Kosovo War. It was released in Australia on June 21, 1999 and that also has music from Australian band Jebediah and New Zealand singer Bic Runga. Three organizations received $1 million from Epic as well as future revenues from the album. Those organizations Médecins Sans Frontières, OXFAM, and Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere.
"Underground" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. The song is about geeks and social outcasts looking for solace in numbers in underground music and art scenes. It peaked at #37 on the UK Singles Chart. The track was #3 for the year of 1996 on Australia's Triple J Hottest 100.
"Philosophy" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. Folds continues to play the song on various tours as part of his solo career.
"Alice Childress" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds and Anna Goodman. The song is a look from a distance at the breakup of a couple who have fundamental differences in their outlooks on life.
Ben Folds Five – The Complete Sessions at West 54th, also referred to as Ben Folds Five – Live at Sessions at West 54th, is a DVD containing musical performances by Ben Folds Five. On June 9, 1997 Ben Folds Five was one of the first guests to appear on a new series called Sessions at West 54th. Because of the 1/2 hour time constraint of the show, only a handful of the recorded tracks made it to air. The DVD contains the entire performance which, for the most part, includes tracks from their just released album, Whatever and Ever Amen.
"Sports & Wine" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. The song is a snide dismissal of a "man's man" who attempts to put up the pretense of being sensitive so that he can appeal more to the opposite sex.
"Uncle Walter" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by lead singer Ben Folds.
The Sound of the Life of the Mind is the fourth studio album by Ben Folds Five, released on September 18, 2012. It is the group's first release since 1999's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.
