Not so rockin' anymore

Ben Folds, founder of the three-member group Ben Folds Five, let his has managed allowed his solo career to take a step backwards with his two newly-released EPs.

Folds, a solo artist since his band broke up in 2000, announced to fans in August that he would be releasing three short collections in the coming months as a precursor to his next full-length album, due out some time in 2004.

However, three EPs have become two as Folds scrapped his plans to release the final one, leaving listeners with the hit-and-misses of Speed Graphic and Sunny 16.

Once upon a time, Ben Folds could do no wrong. The breakup of Ben Folds Five was an amiable one, and Rockin' the Suburbs, Folds' first solo endeavor, can be found in the CD collections of countless college rock fans. Yet Folds' era of making witty, well-masked social commentaries, and endearing stories of characters such as Fred Jones, Hiro, Zak, and Sara came to a provisional halt with the September release of Sunny 16 and the later release of Speed Graphic.

At first the idea of a Ben Folds EP sounded endearing. This artist, who proved time and again that he was a unique voice in a sea of recycled chord progressions, was offering a little something to tide fans over before releasing his next studio album.

The content of these mini-albums ranges from covers (The Divine Comedy's "Songs of Love" and The Cure's "In Between Days") to a 13-year-old Folds original ("Dog" included on Ben Folds Five's first demo in 1990) to a song that was mostly written the day it was recorded in the studio ("All You Can Eat").

Speed Graphic, the first of the two EPs, begins with a catchy redo of The Cure's "In Between Days." The upbeat tempo and strong bass (simulated by Folds on keyboard) are reminiscent of many of the faster tracks on Rockin' the Suburbs. The second track, "Give Judy My Notice," is bearable because it avoids the pedestrian lyrics that populate the remainder of Speed Graphic and most of Sunny 16. Some lines, such as "It's way too hard/Being loved by default," even manage to be poignant.

However, the aforementioned "Dog" ruins the pace of the EP. Its frenetic piano lines and painful lyrics are those of a tyro who has not yet learned the importance of creating songs that will keep listeners from tearing off their headphones. The final track, "Wandering", could not be more aptly titled as a summary to the Ben Folds EP experience thus far. While some of the songs are likeable, they do not add anything to the cache of quirky and musically unique songs Folds has accumulated throughout his career; one of them even manages to be downright intolerable.

Sunny 16, the second EP, starts with the cheeky original "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You." Its lyrics are trite ("Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall" and "Life is wonderful/Life is beautiful"), and a perusal of the next three songs leaves the listener with a similar disappointment in Folds' uncreative, obvious lyrics and presentation.

Aside from a triumphant ending in "You've Got to Learn to Live With What You Are," the piano arrangements, which are usually Folds' fort?©, are unmemorable here and certainly do not contain the emotional drive of classics like "Brick" and "Philosophy." In fact, rather than standing on its own, the piano is surprisingly relegated to an accompanying position, peeking through only for the occasional bridge and solo ending.

It is undoubtedly a bad sign that the strongest tracks on the EPs are both covers. The first, track one on Speed Graphic, provides a hopeful beginning to the EP experience. But it is Sunny 16's closer, The Divine Comedy's "Songs of Love", that assures the listener the energetic pianist has not lost his touch. This song is a gem and nearly redeems the entire affair. The musical arrangement, with sweeping violins, echoing vocal tracks, and a lulling piano, creates the perfect mood for the song's three-quarter waltz time.

Just as the listener begins to lose faith in the piano rocker, he comes through with an instrumentally driven cover. Keeping with his tradition of offbeat but delightful covers, (e.g. "She Don't Use Jelly"), Folds astutely picks another winner.

With some cringe-worthy lyrics, a pair of well-chosen and well-executed covers, and a handful of forgettable tunes, the EPs are at best a shadow of what Folds is capable. Ben Folds admits that the EPs were done quickly. One can only hope that with more time the singer/songwriter will be able to dodge his current proclivity for banal lyrics and disposable riffs and repeat the success of his first solo endeavor.