This one was kind of a sleeper hit. Anyone that bothered to pick up the record after hearing the runaway hit "Brick", were rewarded with a simple, but beautifully recorded and intimate affair. Ben Folds is an artist. Pure and simple. He's proven that he can make a solid record all by his lonesome, but never on this scale, and never without the help of the incredible gentlemen, Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. Andy Wallace is again at the helm of this record, but his production is nothing like that on Grace. It's sparse and simple, but not retro or lo-fi. Just dry. The three part harmonies and lush chords are reminiscent of Todd Rundgren and even Queen at times, but they never sound tacky or nostalgic. Just good. Very good. Their subsequent, and final release, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, trumps this record in literally every way, but they never would have gotten there without taking this road, and anyone who likes music was glad they did.
