Culture Greyhound

For many years now, Ben Folds has garnered a huge fan following and significant exposure with minimal conventional promotion.  He’s probably the most popular modern (and musically active) pop pianist.  And he really hasn’t had a notable “hit” per se, at least not since 1997’s “Brick,” recorded with the long-disbanded Ben Folds Five.  And whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime lover of Folds, you’re likely to enjoy this year’s 3-disc The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective, to be released October 11th.

The set impressively covers a prolific career; Folds has certainly released a lot of material over the years, but this cuts to the chase, focusing on highlights and favorites from his quirky work with the Five to his more introspective solo material.  CD2 features a plethora of recorded live tracks, and CD3 delves into deep cuts and rarities.  But the main selling point, for me, anyway, was the inclusion of three new Ben Folds Five tracks recorded exclusively for this retrospective, the first material they’ve recorded in over a decade.  There’s also 55 tracks available in an online vault, exclusively available online through Ben’s website.  Peep the tracklisting below and read more here.

Disc One – The Best Imitation of Myself
01. Brick (Radio Mix) (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from Brick single – 1998
02. Annie Waits
Taken from Rockin The Suburbs – 2001
03. Philosophy (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from Ben Folds Five – 1995
04. Underground (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from Ben Folds Five – 1995
05. Landed (Strings Version)
Taken from Landed (Digital Single) – 2005
06. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
07. Don’t Change Your Plans (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
08. The Luckiest
Taken from Rockin The Suburbs – 2001
09. Smoke (with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra)
Audio taken from Live in Perth – 2005
10. Rockin’ the Suburbs
Taken from Rockin The Suburbs – 2001
11. Kate (with Ben Folds Five)
Taken from Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
12. Gracie
Taken from Songs for Silverman – 2005
13. Still Fighting It (Extended Version)
Alternate Mix from Rockin The Suburbs – 2001
14. You Don’t Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)
Taken from Way To Normal – 2008
15. There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You
Taken from Supersunnyspeedgraphic, The LP – 2006
16. Still
Taken from Over The Hedge-Music From The Motion Picture – 2006
17. From Above (with lyrics by Nick Hornby)
Taken from Lonely Avenue – 2010
18. House (with Ben Folds Five)
New Track – 2011

Disc Two – Live (1997 – 2011)
All tracks previously unreleased (except where noted)
01. Julianne (with Ben Folds Five)
02. Video (with Ben Folds Five)
Recorded at Studion in Stockholm, Sweden on March 12, 1997
03. Song for The Dumped (with Ben Folds Five)
Recorded for Hard Rock Cafe Live television program on June 12, 1998
Originally released June 20, 2000 on album The Best of Hard Rock Café Live
04. Missing the War (with Ben Folds Five)
05. Mess (with Ben Folds Five)
06. Magic (with Ben Folds Five)
Recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK on December 14, 1999
07. Selfless, Cold and Composed
Recorded at Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY on December 9 2001
08. Zak and Sara
09. Girl
Recorded at Roseland Ballroom in New York, NY on June 13, 2002
10. Just Pretend (with the Bens)
Recorded at Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia on March 24, 2003
11. Fred Jones Part 2 (with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra)
Recorded at Kings Park in Perth, Australia on March 12 & 13 2005
Originally released December 6, 2005 on the Epic DVD Live in Perth (EVD 58494)
12. Careless Whisper (featuring Rufus Wainwright)
Recorded at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA on August 24, 2005
13. All U Can Eat
Recorded at Ben’s Studio in Nashville, TN on October 24, 2006
Originally released February 27, 2007 on the DVD Live at My Space (EVD 704151)
14. Long Tall Texan
Recorded at the Warehouse in Houston, TX on October 24, 2008
15. Army (with Ben Folds Five)
16. Battle of Who Could Care Less (with Ben Folds Five)
Recorded at UNC Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill on September 18, 2008 for the MySpace “Front to Back” series
17. Kylie from Connecticut
Recorded at the State Theatre, Detroit, MI on October 9, 2008
Originally released on April 7, 2009 on the iTunes release The Sound of Last Night … This Morning
18. Effington
Recorded at Ax Hall, Seoul, South Korea on June 9, 2011
19. Picture Window
Recorded at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London, UK on February 20, 2011
20. Sentimental Guy
Recorded at Diamond Hall in Nagoya, Japan on June 7, 2011
21. Not the Same
Recorded at A.E.C. Theatre in Adelaide, Australia on May 22, 2011

Disc Three – Rarities (1991 – 2011)
All tracks previously unreleased (except where noted)
01. Unrelated
Unfinished Song Demo – 1996
02. Best Imitation of Myself
Demo – 1991
03. Rocky
4 Track Home Demo – 1993
04. Boxing
Demo – 1993
05. Julianne (with Ben Folds Five)
Unreleased 1st Album – 1994
06. Evaporated (with Ben Folds Five)
Unreleased 1st Album – 1994
07. Alice Childress
Originally released on Rare on Air 3: KCRW Performances – 1997
08. Barrytown (with Ben Folds Five)
Originally released on Me, Myself and Irene Soundtrack – 2000
09. Amelia Bright (with Ben Folds Five)
Mitch Easter Sessions – 2000
10. Tell Me What I Did (with Ben Folds Five)
New Track – 2011
11. Rock Star
Demo – 2000
12. Losing Lisa
Demo – 2000
13. Break Up at Food Court
Demo – 2000
14. Wandering
Demo – 2000
15. Hiro’s Song
Demo – 2000
16. The Secret Life of Morgan Davis
Alternate Mix – 2001
17. Such Great Heights
Alternate Mix from MySpace sessions – 2006
18. B*tches Ain’t Sh*t
Originally released as b-side of Landed 7″ vinyl single (34 071845)
19. Time
Alternate Version – 2004
20. Sleazy
Originally released on Download to Donate’s Tsunami Relief – 2011
21. Because the Origami (with 8in8 – Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and Damian Kulash)
Originally released on Nighty Night – 2011
22. Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues (with Ben Folds Five)
New Track – 2011