Ben Folds Five (album)

Ben Folds Five is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, released on August 8, 1995. A non-traditional rock album, it featured a sound that excluded lead guitars completely.^[1] The album was released on the small independent label Passenger Records, owned by Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI. Ben Folds Five received positive reviews, and spawned five singles. The record failed to chart, but sparked an intense bidding war eventually won by Sony Music.^[2] Several live versions of songs originally released on Ben Folds Five reappeared later as b-sides or on compilations.

Ben Folds Five
Studio album by Ben Folds Five
Released	August 8, 1995
Recorded	February 1995
Studio	Wave Castle, North Carolina
Genre	Rock power pop alternative rock cabaret
Length	46:14
Label	Passenger
Producer	Caleb Southern
Ben Folds Five chronology
Ben Folds Five (1995) Whatever and Ever Amen (1997)
Singles from Ben Folds Five
"Jackson Cannery" Released: 1994 "Underground" Released: April 8, 1996 "Where's Summer B.?" Released: June 7, 1996 "Philosophy" Released: 1996 "Uncle Walter" Released: 1996

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Drowned in Sound	9/10[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
Houston Chronicle	[7]
NME	9/10[8]
Pitchfork	9.6/10[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]

Ben Folds Five received positive reviews from NME, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Entertainment Weekly. Michael Gallucci praised the album as "a potent, and extremely fun collection of postmodern rock ditties that comes off as a pleasantly workable combination of Tin Pan Alley showmanship, Todd Rundgren-style power pop, and myriad alt-rock sensibilities."^[1] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice selected "Boxing" as a "choice cut".^[12] The Record concluded that the "performances are often mannered, the arrangements busy and tiring, and Folds's Joe Jackson Redux isn't anything close to the Bold New Sound it has been trumpeted as."^[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Folds, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Jackson Cannery"		3:23
2.	"Philosophy"		4:36
3.	"Julianne"		2:30
4.	"Where's Summer B.?"	Folds, Darren Jessee	4:07
5.	"Alice Childress"	Folds, Anna Goodman	4:34
6.	"Underground"		4:11
7.	"Sports & Wine"		2:58
8.	"Uncle Walter"		3:51
9.	"Best Imitation of Myself"		2:38
10.	"Video"		4:07
11.	"The Last Polka"	Folds, Anna Goodman	4:34
12.	"Boxing"		4:45

Personnel

• Ben Folds – piano, vocals
• Darren Jessee – drums, vocals, percussion
• Robert Sledge – bass, vocals
• Ted Ehrhard – violin, viola on "Boxing"
• Chris Eubank – cello on "Boxing"

Production

• Producer: Caleb Southern
• Mixing: Marc Becker
• Photography: Alexandria Searls

Charts

Weekly charts Chart Position Australian ARIA Albums Chart[14] 37 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[15] 72

Certifications } Region Certification Japan (RIAJ)[16] Gold