So There

by Ben Folds

Overview

Ben Folds is no stranger to collaboration. After his most recent solo album, 2008's Way to Normal, he released 2010's Lonely Avenue, which set English novelist Nick Hornby's lyrics to Folds' music; a quickly generated fundraising record supporting musical opportunities for kids titled Nighty-Night, co-credited to Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer, writer Neil Gaiman, and OK Go's Damian Kulash; and his band Ben Folds Five's 2012 reunion LP, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, and pursuant live release; not to mention producing stints (such as Sara Bareilles' 2012 EP Once Upon Another Time) and other TV, theater, and music projects. Also no stranger to the classical realm, Folds was a percussion performance major during his time at university, has performed his piano rock songs with various orchestras, and premiered his first piano concerto with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in 2014. So There finds the musician partnering with the experimental Brooklyn chamber ensemble yMusic on eight new tunes referred to as "8 chamber rock songs" on the record's packaging. It also includes a studio recording of his aforementioned three-movement "Concerto for Piano & Orchestra" with the Nashville Symphony. It turns out that yMusic's participation augments song textures without replacing anything uniquely Folds. His tremendously agile, rhythmic piano playing, also-agile melodies, and occasionally double-tracked, distinctive vocals are all still front and center. The album opens strongly with two memorable and thoughtful pop songs, "Capable of Anything," whose title refers to anything good and anything bad, and the seemingly tender "Not a Fan." The former is driven by (after melody) piano and drums, with deft string and woodwind embellishments; the latter is a piano-and-strings ballad that transforms into a harsh moment of clarity for the lyrics' protagonist. Another album highlight, "Phone in a Pool," addresses communication breakdowns and the lure of disconnecting ("When you've lived to be two hundred/Feel free to proffer your advice/Until that time here's my auto-reply"). The nerdiest and goofiest piece is easily "F10-D-A," an ensemble-punctuated music theory lesson in double-entendre. The piano concerto is approachable and dramatic, a Gershwin-esque, pop-influenced type of classical work. Fans of his songwriting may be surprised at how much it has Ben's voice without, well, Ben's voice. The album will very likely be embraced by solo Folds aficionados, though it may not appeal to those who strongly favor the brasher Five. Outside of a career context, and with credit to Folds' co-arrangers and co-producers, C.J. Camerieri and Rob Moose of yMusic, So There is both ambitious and down-to-earth, impeccably constructed, and utterly accessible. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	09/11/2015
Label:	New West
UPC:	0607396633722

Tracks

1. Capable of Anything
2. Not a Fan
3. So There
4. Long Way to Go
5. Phone in a Pool
6. Yes Man
7. F10-D-A
8. I'm Not the Man
9. Concerto for Piano & Orchestra: Movement 1
10. Concerto for Piano & Orchestra: Movement 2
11. Concerto for Piano & Orchestra: Movement 3

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ben Folds   Primary Artist,Piano,Percussion
Sam Smith   Drums
Rob Moose   Violin
Andrew Higley   Synthesizer
Chad Chapin   Percussion
Giancarlo Guerrero   Conductor
Hideaki Aomori   Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
CJ Camerieri   Trumpet,French Horn
Gabriel Cabezas   Cello
Nadia Sirota   Viola
Alexandra Sopp   Flute,Piccolo,Flute (Alto)
Ryan Lerman   Guitar
Nashville Symphony   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Aki Nishimura   Assistant Engineer
Gabi Lima   Assistant
Peter Chun   Assistant
Rachel Breslin   Assistant Engineer
Mike Jinno   Assistant Engineer
Bil Lane   Assistant Engineer
Cody Swann   Composer
Nicholas Cody   Composer
Zahira Gutierrez   Composer
R. Andrew Lee   Composer
Joachim Horsley   Editing,Orchestration
Zack Dewall   Assistant Engineer
Gena Johnson   Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Thom Beemer   Assistant Engineer
Pierson   Composer
Rob Moose   Harmony,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Dave Way   Mixing
Strickland   Composer
Joe Costa   Engineer
Rich Tosi   Assistant Engineer
Leon Overtoom   Engineer
Andrew Higley   Arranger
Gracie Folds   Harmony
Alicia Witt   Composer
Allan Amato   Photography
Kim Buie   A&R
Lawson White   Engineer
John Heiden   Package Design
CJ Camerieri   Arranger,Producer
Alexandra Sopp   Design,Harmony,Cover Art
Richard King   Mixing
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Elliot Scheiner   Engineer,Producer
Ben Folds   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Photography,Orchestration