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| Way to Normal | 
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| Artist: Ben Folds
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy New: $8.88
You Save: $7.10 (44%)
New (52) Used (14) from $7.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 284
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 709849
UPC: 886970984928
EAN: 0886970984928
ASIN: B001E1DJ9S
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All products brand new and factory sealed.
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| Tracks:
| • | Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head) | | • | Dr. Yang | | • | The Frown Song | | • | You Don't Know Me | | • | Before Cologne | | • | Cologne | | • | Errant Dog | | • | Free Coffee | | • | Bitch Went Nuts | | • | Brainwascht | | • | Effington | | • | Kylie from Connecticut |
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Album Description
Explicit version of Ben Folds' 2008 album Way to Normal. Ben Folds is best known as a solo artist and as the front-man pianist of Ben Folds Five. He is celebrated for a sound that bridges the worlds of Jazz and Power Rock. Consistently touring, Ben Folds has earned a reputation for his wit, musicality, and energetic live shows. With songs like 'Hiroshima' (which recounts his falling of the stage and hitting his head in Japan), Folds has proven to be a story-teller for the piano-rock generation. Way To Normal is the first full length release since Songs for Silverman, a very honest look at the last few years of Folds' life. Folds collaborated with Dennis Herring (Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello) and the track 'You Don't Know Me' features a duet with indie songstress, Regina Spektor.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
 Way to Normal October 4, 2008
20 out of 25 found this review helpful
Much like everyone else it seems, we've all been fans of Ben Folds since he was Ben Folds Five. So he clearly has a very devoted following of people like me who will buy anything he puts out on day one.
So I have listened to 'Way to Normal' four times now. After the first time, I thought, "This is really uneven and kind of disappointing". Usually I'm hooked after one listen.
There are some really stupid, childish lyrics on the album - 'Errant Dog' comes to mind right away and the "f'ing a Guru" in 'The Frown Song'. Those lyrics made me cringe and feel really old. And then there's the really lame woman-leaves-man/ man-leaves-woman joke that leads into "B*&ch Went Nuts" with its David Carradine Kung Fu delivery. Maybe today's teenagers might find this stuff funny, but I did not.
Also, there are a few songs with a weird sounding/fuzzy piano/keyboard in the background that sounds very out-of-place on a Ben Folds album (It almost sounds like Dr. Dre could have made those sounds).
Now despite those negatives, there are still a bunch of really good songs on here that make me remember why Ben Folds is one of my favorite artists. He's a great pop-song writer. He's one of the few artists today to really feature the piano (he makes me wish I could play). "Cologne" is such a powerful, personal song and probably the best song on the album. "B&*ch Went Nuts", "Brainwascht" and "Effington" are fun and fast-paced. "Kylie from Connecticut" was classic piano-man. I only wish the entire album lived up to those songs. Overall, a really uneven release...
 Overcooked and Underthought October 3, 2008
19 out of 25 found this review helpful
Where do I start? I've been a fan for the past 11 years. So far, SONGS FOR SILVERMAN is the only Ben Folds solo album that I've been able to fully get behind. While ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS and his three EP's have some shining moments, they bring incinsistency, as well. Unfortunately, WAY TO NORMAL carries that trend and not the mature growth exhibited on SFS.
The album opens with "Hiroshima," which is an obvious take on "Benny & the Jets" that crosses the border into 'ripoff' territory. "The Frown Song" carries the rhythm of RTS highlight, "Losing Lisa" except with bad singing and silly social commentary.
The low-lights keep coming, although the Regina Spektor duet is cutesy and so it gets a pass. "Cologne" is where I think Ben starts to get a bit more mature, but with a chorus like, '4-3-2-1 I'm letting you go,' I realize at this point there's no going back; Ben Folds has made a genuinely bad album.
Even worse was his decision to work with producer Dennis Herring who auto-tunes the hell out of Folds' voice, giving it that shrinkwrapped, plastic feel that only Cher and J-Lo could appreciate. The songs tend to be overloud with no real dynamic ("Dr. Yang"), the bass - instead of that quasi Ben Folds Five fuzzbass - is turned waaaaaaaaaaaay up and sounds like a muddy mess of distortion.
The only redeemer is "Errant Dog" whose music is on par with the best stuff Folds has ever written. The lyrics are a different story completely.
In the end, it seems like Folds is TRYING to make a "fun" album as retaliation to the poor fan-reception given to SFS. Unfortunately we only get out of things as much as we put into them and WAY TO NORMAL is turd polishing all the way. If Folds had brought some better songs, or worked with a better producer (what happened to self-producing, or working with Caleb Southern?) maybe this collection could have been saved. Skip it and - if you're still on board - hope that in three years from now (when the next album drops) Folds will have rediscovered what made him a great songwriter and decide to share it with us.
rocks in a way only Ben Folds can rock. September 30, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
From the head-banging intro of "Hiroshima" (pun intended) to the symphonic sounds of "Cologne" and the electronic, synthetic experimentations of "Free Coffee", this may be Ben Folds most diverse album since The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner and with arguably more standouts.
I had the pleasure of hearing "Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)" at Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center when Ben was in town and thought it rocked then and it still rocks now, in a way only Ben Folds can rock. In terms of piano parts, I think this album most closely resembles his last endeavor Songs for Silverman but perhaps with more major chords and less syncopation (but I'll have to see the sheet music when it comes out to be sure). There's also a generally faster tempo to most of the songs which may make it more immediately likeable, but could also wear down its welcome sooner (it's still too early to tell, but a couple songs remind me of Speed Graphic's hyperactive "Dog", including the conspicuous "Errant Dog"). If you're anything like me, upbeat songs are more appealing immediately, but ballads grow on me over time, so my favorite songs from Songs for Silverman now are "Time, "Prison Food" and "You to Thank" (not really a ballad I know).
By all accounts, this is an engaging and impressive album from one of the most impressive musicians around. You can't deny he's got piano chops (maybe the best in the business) and he gets to show off a little (not like "Bastard" or "Philosophy" going way back...), but if you ever hear him in concert you know he's still got it. And though some may feel his lyrics leave something to be desired (my wife included) his songwriting is as fresh and original as ever with standouts "You Don't Know Me", "Effington" and "Cologne" (by the way, if you get the chance to listen to the "Piano Orchestra Version" of "Cologne", do; it's fantastic).
The Ben Folds Mid-Life Crisis Album October 1, 2008
9 out of 14 found this review helpful
First, let me say that I'm a huge Ben Folds (and Ben Folds Five) fan. I've seen him in concert more times than any other artist. I've been really anxious for the follow up to Songs For Silverman... and I must say that this album is a bit of a let down. It has its moments, but overall is just okay.
Way To Normal feels like a musical mid-life crisis - like an aging Ben Folds trying to be young Ben Folds Five again... and it just doesn't work very well. His songwriting, lyrical, and mad piano skills are sacrificed at the expense of trying to sound young and crazy again. Dr. Yang, The Frown Song, Errant Dog... just not very good tunes. Ben can do so much better. (Sorry, but I even think B-W-N is way over the top.)
I love the mature sound we got from Ben on Songs For Silverman... where his songwriting, lyrical, and piano skills really shined. It sounded like he had truly let go of the BFF days. Way To Normal is a big step backward from that.
Growing up is okay, Ben! You can move on and still be cool!
You Don't Know Me, Cologne, Kylie From Connecticut are very good. Hiroshima, Brainwascht, and Effington are okay. The rest are below average.
A sad album, in a good way October 1, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
There was an odd juxtaposition in Ben Folds' 2006 album "Saving Silverman." The CD's first and most successful single, "Landed," was a brilliant picture of a dysfunctional relationship (and one that, as those who knew me in college can attest, I could relate to all too well). But immediately after "Landed," which was the fourth track on the album, was "Gracie," a lullaby written to Folds' young daughter. Given the intensely personal nature of Folds' songs, it seemed weird he could write about escaping a dysfunctional relationship on one hand, and his devotion to his daughter on the other.
The juxtaposition made much more sense with the news of Folds' divorce in 2007. Clearly, both "Landed" and "Gracie" reflected Folds' feelings, and I imagine the divorce was especially difficult because of the effect on Folds' daughter. When I heard the news, I was quite saddened; I have a daughter of my own, and "Gracie" was such a vivid picture of Folds' relationship with his daughter that I felt for the both of them.
It was in that light that I listened to Folds' newest album, "Way to Normal." My initial reaction was one of pleasant surprise, as the first few songs are decidedly upbeat, more similar in tone to Ben Folds Five eponymous album than Folds' recent ballad-heavy offerings. The facade soon gave way, however, starting with the fourth track, "You Don't Know Me." The brilliantly written and executed song, which features Regina Spektor, is clearly directed towards Folds' ex-wife:
I wanna ask you -
Do you ever sit and wonder,
It's so strange
That we could be together for
So long, and never know, never care
What goes on in the other one's head?
Things I've felt but I've never said
You said things that I never said
So I'll say something that I should have said long ago:
(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all
(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all (at all)
The sixth track fully gives the game away (the fifth track is an instrumental prelude) with a contrast to "You Don't Know Me" that is nearly as jarring as "Landed" and "Gracie." Entitled "Cologne," it is, given the context, devastatingly sad.
Here in Cologne
I know I said it wrong
I walked you to the train
And back across alone
To my hotel room
And ordered me some food
And now I'm wondering why the floor has suddenly become a moving target
Four, three, two, one,
I'm letting you go
I will let go
If you will let go
Whereas Folds' circumstances are at odds in the fourth and fifth tracks in "Saving Silverman," on "Way to Normal" it is Folds' emotions that are contrasted in those same two tracks, undoubtedly the inevitable consequence of the untenable situation alluded to in "Saving Silverman."
This divergence gives light to the upbeat nature of the first few tracks - clearly Folds' is trying to cast a happy face on a tragic situation; the facade is in shambles by the end of the album, filled with tracks raging against his wife, woman in general, God, and more. It ends with a whimper ("Effington" excepted), and one wonders if Folds' career is headed for the same fate - after this, his third divorce (but first with children), he can't have much more left in the emotional well that fuels his music. That's not to say it isn't a good album. Like all of Folds' recent work, it starts out incredibly strong; the second, not so much. One wishes he had stuck to EP's.
A few weeks ago I was trying to explain to my wife the importance of music, although I didn't quite know how to express why. "Way to Normal," is a powerful reminder. A good song, and especially a good album, make you feel. The emotions may differ - my recent favorites include Coldplay's "Vida la Vida," which exudes confidence; Sigur Ros' "Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust" an exuberant album full of energy; and Weezer's "Red Album," which is pure throwback fun. What they all have in common is that they refuse to fade into the background. Music has the powerful ability to speak to more than your ears; in the case of "Way to Normal," it breaks the heart.
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