Ben Folds: musical genius

I'm a huge fan of Ben Folds. Whereas Elton John, Billy Joel and Bruce Hornsby defined the genre of "piano pop", Ben Folds is staunchly in the "piano rock" category. His new album, Way to Normal, doesn't disappoint, despite 3 fairly weak songs in the middle (Errant Dog, Free Coffee, and Bitch Went Nuts).

But what really amazed me was the "leak" version. Over an 8-hour recording session, Ben and his band composed and recorded 6 tracks, which they bundled with a couple of real songs from the album. They then put the package up on file sharing sites several weeks before the real album was schedule to launch. Rolling Stone has a great article about it.

And the thing is, those songs are good. I mean really good. Sure they're rough, but they also have emotion and musicianship behind them. As Ben says:

The word 'fake' came up when we started doing it and it takes all the responsibility out. You can just be free to write and let it go... I may be on crack, but I think if that was half the real record, it'd be good. Everyone I know keeps wanting to put it in and play it.

I agree. Way to Normal is a great song with a very catchy chorus. Free Coffee Town is a much better song than the version on the real album. Frowne Song and Lovesick Diagnostician are also solid songs. Honestly, I would have paid for this album too.