When looking at the new Ben Folds album, it is easy to dismiss it in its entirety, since it is really just a recycled production of old material. It would seem at first to be a marketing ploy to capitalize on his music without wasting any time actually making the music.
The truth is, though, that Folds has been hard at work in the studio - for about a day - remixing these two-year-old songs and adding his personal touch. Despite the miniscule scale of these changes, this review assumes that people who are already familiar with the older material have already stopped reading.
If the title, "Supersunnyspeedgraphic" (say that five times fast) seems a bit obtuse, it is because, due to the aforementioned lack of originality, the title is simply a truncation of the three original EPs from which every song but two is borrowed: "Speed Graphic" (2003), "Sunny 16" (2003) and "Super D" (2004). As Folds boasts himself in the album booklet, these EPs did very well on the Internet, on which they were almost exclusively released. Despite what critics say, it is only natural to market successful songs in the more traditional CD and LP formats so that the three or four people who don't use the Internet yet can enjoy his music too.
It should be noted that not every song from these EPs survived the selection process. It seemed that Folds did recognize that re-packaging a song three times is a bit much, as he intentionally left off the old Ben Folds Five song "Wandering" as well as his older, lesser known band Majosha's "Kalamazoo."
Folds did keep a re-production of "Bruised," a song from his collaboration with Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, known as The Bens. Though the lyrics are very emo - even by Folds' standards - there's nothing about his approach that will make you find a dark room to cry in. Just look at how he handles the depressing Cure song, "In Between Days." While upholding the spirit of the song on the piano, which he is more adept at than those Brits, his more upbeat style comes through in the vocals and drums.
The album's other cover songs include the lively "Get Your Hands Off of My Woman" by The Darkness and the Dr. Dre classic, "Bitches Ain't Shit," which is so offensive and misogynistic that it is unquestionably funny for Folds to adapt it to his own style. "Songs of Love" is also a cover, written by the lesser known band The Divine Comedy. This song introduces another separate style of pop that is used on the album, which sounds more like a waltz than anything else.
The other example of the pop-waltz is "Still," which, as we all know was featured in everyone's favorite timeless, animated rodent classic "Over the Hedge" (2006). The lyrics of this song are expectedly less deep, as shown by the chorus: "Even the things that seem still are still changing." Though these words may seem obvious to a snobby Tufts student, I bet they blew some 8-year-old's mind and will perhaps give those youngin's some exposure to his other work. If the song seems juvenile, though, his older fan base will be delighted to discover that following the song is a half-minute reprise of "Bitches Ain't Shit." Parents beware.
The third and final Folds style that appears on this album dangerously approaches the realm of happy-go-lucky. Though the song "There's Always Someone Cooler than You" may be excessively corny, "Rent A Cop Folds" intertwines the style with an extreme amount of musical depth, bringing in a brass section and multiple breakdowns. This standout track dances over several genres for four minutes, including blues and techno, but somehow is still able to flow like the rest of the album.
The most memorable song lyrically would have to be "All U Can Eat," which I'm sure Morgan Spurlock has on repeat now, because it runs along the very same lines as the whole "Super Size Me" (2004) movement. Despite all the funny-but-true-social criticism, the listener is left with the chorus ringing in his head and Folds repeating the line, "They give no fuck" in the context of various scenarios. Though the phrase may start a trend, there's no getting around its awkwardness, which might overshadow what should be one of the album's better songs.
After listening to this album, you feel compelled to look on the bright side of things. Remembering that the album is nothing more than recycled material patched together, the benefit of such a product is that it shows Folds' range of talent better than any album to date. Unless you already bought these EPs, you should definitely check this one out.
