Elton John and Billy Joel both know, with albums and songs that have been delighting listeners for decades now.
So, too, does the incomparable Stevie Wonder and if you haven't taken a listen to Martha Argerich, now is the time.
In my own personal pantheon of pop greats, Ben Folds deserves to be included on the list. It's been a wide-spanning career, one that has taken Folds around the world in his journeys. And while he has consistently delivered over the years, it his debut album as a solo artist, Rockin' the Suburbs, that still strikes a chord in the heart to this day.
But before the solo artist arrived, Folds laid the foundation of his musical contributions with the band Ben Folds Five.
Ben Folds Five (and beyond)
Folds was part (and founder) of Ben Folds Five, a trio of musicians also including Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. Wait. A trio? But it says Five right there in the title, shouldn't there be five members? Next, you'll probably tell me the Doobie Brothers aren't really brothers and the Thompson Twins aren't really twins nor named Thompson.
Misleading name aside, the group's music tended to be on the indie side of life, though they did eventually find some mainstream hits
Ben Folds Five formed in 1993 but it wasn't until the song "Brick", the first single off the Whatever and Ever Amen album, in which Ben Folds Five gained more mainstream popularity. And perhaps if you never heard this song or album, perhaps you caught their song "Air" off the Godzilla soundtrack in 1998.
Soundtracks would actually turn out to be a huge "go-to" for not only the group around this time but for Folds as well. Songs appeared on such films Me, Myself, and Irene and Over the Hedge, among others, in addition to the aforementioned Godzilla soundtrack.
Amicably, the trio parted ways and did reunite over the years. Many of these occasions were one-offs but they managed to hit the studio again for The Sound of the Life of the Mind in 2012. The group's fourth album debuted on the Billboard 200 at no. 10 and features a handful of my favorites, including "Draw a Crowd", "Thank You For Breaking My Heart", "Do It Anyway", and "Sky High".
The group is solid together, with a catalog that goes fairly deep, when one seeks them out. Folds, as a solo artist, has proven to be a solid entity in the music world, and Rockin' the Suburbs is an album (or, specifically, its songs) that I come back to again and again.
Rockin' the Suburbs
Released on September 11, 2001, this album marked a new beginning for Folds as an artist. And here, over 20 years later, many of the songs remain meaningful (some, in different ways), much of which can be attributed to the art of an album telling a story. Starting, on this album in particular, with song no. 1 ("Annie Waits") and lasting until the last beats of song 13 ("The Luckiest").
The arc of a story/theme within an album has changed over the years but, more so, in recent years the habit of the listener has evolved. While present in media prior the compact disc, the CD and accompanying devices made it much easier to skip around and listen to only one's favorite songs. Sure, the cassette tape and vinyl had similar capabilities, just much more difficult to get to the exact song wanted.
Streaming services and the idea of shuffle have narrowed down that aspect even further, with often entire albums sans one or two songs are forgotten about. It is truly a shame, as even now when new albums are released there might be a tendency to listen on "shuffle", rather than listen as the artist and/or producer intended the album to be heard.
I, too, am guilty of this. Though I have made a concerted effort to listen in order to start to finish when I come across artists/albums for the first time.
Song from Rockin' the Suburbs are among my most-listened to on iTunes and they populate a number of playlists on Spotify. For the first time in years, I recently played Rockin' the Suburbs in order from start to finish and was reminded what a brilliant album it is.
The album hit hard for me early its release, notably in early 2002 when it was on heavy rotation. Back then, songs like "Gone", "Not the Same", and "The Luckiest" were hammering the soul. Here were these songs, along with others peppered throughout, speaking to me on love, heartache, and the power of relationships (and in some instances, relationships breaking apart).
"The Luckiest", nearly 22 years after its release, continues to be one of my favorite songs. The lyrics perfectly encapsulate what it is to love, and to love unconditionally, especially when relating to those most important in your life. Folds wrote this for his wife and the birth of his child but can be easily applied to one's own loves in life, whether that be a partner, friend, or family member.
One of the things that struck me, upon the recent listen of the album, is how Folds had his finger on the pulse of living a complete life, despite only being 35 years old. This is not entirely young but some of the maturity of which he writes could lend one to thinking Folds was older.
This is perfectly captured in the song "Fred Jones Part 2" and, to some extent, "Still Fighting It" (also a favorite of mine, listened to on repeat with no end in sight). The depth of which Folds sings about heartache, the crass reality of losing a long-time job, growing up, and examining life in its entirety shows Folds has a wisdom beyond his years. Through it all, Folds captures the ebbs and flows of a life lived with a deft hand (and voice), balancing all with style.
All that and we barely even mention the titular song of the album, which is a powerful and poppy rock song that kicks off the last stretch of the album.
Follow-up albums have proven Folds has staying power and is also willing to experiment, as he did with author Nick Hornby and the album Lonely Avenue. Whether it's as a solo artist, with his original band or making music with The Bens, Folds is a singer-songwriter worth listening to. Especially when it comes to the art of telling a story with an album, like he so expertly did with Rockin' the Suburbs back in 2001 and will hopefully continue to do with his upcoming (June 2) album What Matters Most, his first album since 2015's So There.
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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