Ben Folds: Ben Folds Live : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Ben Folds without a band sounds a lot like Ben Folds with one; his piano has always been the focus. So these live solo versions of his songs, collected from various tour dates in March, June and July of this year, are lively and garnished with applause and audience singalongs but don't have too many surprises. One notable exception is the introduction to "Brick," still Folds' loveliest, saddest song, where he describes the inspiration: the experience of helping his high school girlfriend through an abortion. A noble failure is Folds' attempting a cover of Dick Dale's surf classic "Misirlou," a composition utterly unsuited to any instrument that is not a guitar. The album also includes a reverent version of "Tiny Dancer," by piano forefather Elton John -- what, no cover of Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man"?