The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner

Whatever happened after 'Whatever and Ever Amen' killed the soul of Ben Folds Five. This album sounds like it was produced by Disney only with songs that aren't as catchy. The only Ben Folds FIve album that i can listen to without cringing is their perfect Whatever and Ever Amen. That was an album that was raw and original, they never duplicated that effort. 'Army' is the only track that comes close. Too bland and too loungy.

Ben Folds Five is best-known for the hit single, “Brick,” from their 1997 album, Whatever and Ever, Amen. It’s subject matter, the collateral damage that comes from a young couple’s decision to have an abortion, is a strange topic for a hit single, but there you have it. The trio’s leader, Ben Folds, is largely seen as the driving force behind the group, and Ben Folds Five is often regarded as the early vehicle for his singular talents. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the band’s 1998 follow-up and is, arguably, Fold’s best work to date. While not necessarily biographic (the band reportedly made up the name, which was unfortunate for the several hundred Reinhold Messners who were later discovered to actually exist), the themes on Reinhold Messner lean hard toward melancholy: illness, fear, frustration, and loneliness. That said, the album is far from depressing. Speaking widely, Reinhold Messner is about adjusting to how life actually turns out verses “the dream.” The sad and grotesque characters of the album conjure the citizens of “Winesbug, Ohio,” Sherwood Anderson’s fictional and strange midwestern town. Like the citizens in Winesburg, the inhabitants in Reinhold Messner careen recklessly out of control for two fateful reasons: circumstances beyond their control (“Narcolepsy,” “Don’t Change Your Plans,” and “Hospital Song”) or situations rising solely from stupid decisions (“Army,” “Mess,” and “Regrets”). Ben Folds has been called the 90’s heir to the Elton John piano-rock mantle, but I disagree. I suspect Folds is much more influenced by the wonderfully eclectic Joe Jackson, and lyrically, by the curmudgeonly and cynical Steely Dan. His piano work is tinged with jazzy improvisations and outer space noises, while his subject matter is dark and jaundiced, like the girl from your old school (“I did not think the girl could be so cruel”). In fact, Ben Folds gravitates towards the outcasts and marginalized. He sings about what happens to those kids in school who never quite fit in: those kids who were chosen last in gym class, who never went to football games, and who spent their time on the playground digging in the dirt away from the others. With Reinhold Messner, Folds becomes their young adult voice, he champions their plight, and he offers a strange sort of comfort. In the final song on the album, he provides a hope-filled lullaby for this beleaguered crowd: “Goodnight, goodnight, sweet baby. The world has more for you than is seems.” So does this album.

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I was very surprised to read a few people put this album near the bottom of the ben folds five/ben folds pile. I'm not sure what the reason is, maybe that this is album is too "different" to get the listens it deserves. Ben Folds Five was one of my favorite bands in their heyday and this album is awesome. Plays well as an album and nearly every song is great on it's own, very rich and layered.

Dudes and Dudettes, Honestly an awesome album. Very worth the money. I listen to this album in particular more than the rest of his music, and I consider Ben in my top 3... There really isn't a single song that's not worth listening to. You'll listen to this once - in chill mode - and get hooked. The lyrics and tune are the strongest parts, sorry I don't have a bad part about this one, besides the fact that maybe he didn't include other hits from his other albums on this one... :).. No really though, if you like good music, this is one you'll have for years and years, and you'll refer back to it in good times and bad.. It's that good.

This and his Songs for Silverman are perfect. No bad son's on either disc. Don't get me wrong, he has a bunch of good song's on every one of his albums but it's those two. There just perfect.

When I first listened to this cd, about halfway through it I thought it was a pile of crap and went back to listening to some of the "better" ben folds albums. A couple months ago, I decided to go back and listen to it again, and guess what? It is now my favorite ben folds album. It is more jazzy and slow then the other BFF albums, so be prepared, but it has much more emotion and creativity. Definitely buy this album

So I bought this album recently along with Ben's newest release--The Unauthorized Biography was one of the last BF5 albums that I didn't have, so I figured I'd try it. Normally, I like Ben's solo stuff more than his BF5, but I ended up being quite disappointed by Way to Normal and loving this album. He forms interconnections by quoting lyrics or melodies from one song in another, which gives it the impression of being more than the sum of its parts as a coherent whole. There are some really great individual songs as well, though, like Mess, Army, and Lullabye. He even goes out on some experimental limbs with Your Most Valuable Possession and returns with something that's not unenjoyable. (sorry for my incoherency--mind isn't working well today)

I didn't expect so many fans to consider this album to be their best work. I enjoy this album, but I can't say it even holds up to the outstanding music from their previous albums.

Without a doubt the darkest and most brooding Ben Folds created with the Five, perhaps in his whole career so far. There is a reflectiveness to the music and lyrics here that is absent in the pop culture whimsy of his first two albums, and a surrealism to the arrangements absent from the more literal minded albums like Rockin' the Suburbs and Songs for Silverman. Ben reflects on death in the strangely lighthearted, "Don't Change Your Plans", despair in the haunting "Mess", loss in "Magic" (possibly the most beautiful song he has ever written), failure in the hilarious "Army", and much more. Like his other albums, this one's got a showstopper in it, too -- "Army," which is one of the funniest and best songs in his catalogue. The festival of odd arrangements and thoughtful lyrics is resolved beautifully with the blissful, nostalgic, and quietly joyful "Lullabye." An emotional tour de force that probes more deeply into the waters that Fold had previously only skimmed with songs like Brick. Overall, this is my favorite album from Folds's work with the Five; be sure to listen to it whole, when it adds up to more than the sum of its parts.