Description

My first thoughts about this album when I first heard of the concept was that it could either be really terrible or really great. Well, I was wrong, it's neither. Many of the versions of Ben's songs here are under whelming and tend to lose the emotional power of the originals, such as Greensboro`s "Not The Same" and Folds` own "Boxing" which feels pretentious and over-embellished compared to the understated original. "Selfless, Cold and Composed" by Sacramento State is messy and loses the emotion the original recording conveyed and Rochester University`s "Army" just seems a little lifeless.more… There are some fantastic moments on this album though, Ohio University's version of "Brick" definitely hits the mark and Washington University in St. Louis' "Still Fighting It" is spine-tingling in places, as is "The Luckiest" with a gorgeous lead vocal performance on both - it's just a shame that these highlights are few and far between. I get the impression that those who have really excelled at this project are those who really understand what Ben's music is all about, rather than attempting to be intricate and clever.

I approached this album with an open mind and have listened to it a few times in order to give it a fair hearing but my thoughts about this album remain the same as the first time I heard it. To be honest, although it's an interesting project and a creative concept, I don't believe that I will probably be listening to this album much in future, although the handful of highlights will certainly be uploaded onto my MP3 player. For all of the artistry and the obvious effort that the choral groups have put into their arrangements, this isn't much more than a novelty album and mainly leads to me wanting to hear the brilliant original recordings of the songs. I'd have to say that this album wouldn't appeal to anyone other than die-hard Ben Folds followers or fans of the a cappella genre, so it's certainly not for everyone. I feel a little mean giving it three stars, as there are a few great versions on this release, but - overall - it is a little disappointing and three stars is probably a fair assessment of the entire album.

Tracks

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Info:

Category:

Music > Albums

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

Ben Folds - University A Cappella! (2009) Retail CD

Part:

Front

Dimensions:

1063 x 1063 px

Size:

192 KB

Downloads:

79 (0 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

20/06/09 by musicworld

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