481. Ben Folds Five - Reinhold Messner

481.BFFreinholdmessner,
originally uploaded by jrd550.

A follow up to 'Whatever and ever amen', 'Reinhold' also became their final album as a band, I think. The record is a solid one with the band still fighting categorization... the addition of strings and a greater production budget both add and take away from the release. It's great to hear tracks played to crisp perfection but at times one can't help but feel like you're listening to a theme song from a sitcom. Nonetheless, there are enough good moments to keep this. I always wondered about Ben's solo stuff. I know he has released quite a bit so far - I'm open to recommendations...

7.6 out of 10