Ben Folds Speed Graphic		Ben Folds Sunny 16		The Bens The Bens
Released: December2, 2003 Origination Year: 2003 Time: N/A Tracks: 5 Produced by: John Mark Painter & Ben Folds Style: Studio Format: CD/EP Enhancement: None Website: www.benfolds.com		Released: September 30, 2003 Origination Year: 2003 Time: N/A Tracks: 5 Produced by: John Mark Painter & Ben Folds Style: Studio Format: CD/EP Enhancement:None Website: www.benfolds.com		Released: February 10, 2004 Origination Year: 2004 Time: N/A Tracks: 4 Produced by: Kweller, Lee, Folds Style: Studio Format: CD/EP Enhancement: None Website: www.benfolds.com

At one point, it looked as if piano-rock was going to come back with a vengeance. Sure, the two most famous acts behind the eighty eights, Elton John and Billy Joel, had just about given up on trying, allowing themselves to go gently into the adult contemporarily scored night. Tom Waits' wonderful weirdness was too far off the map for most people and, frankly, strapping a guitar across your gut just seemed cooler than sitting behind the Steinway. But there was this little five piece band that, oddly, only consisted of three people, played with reckless abandon and sported the punky, pissy attitude of prime Joe Jackson's pop. They were called Ben Folds Five and they were poised for a revolution.

But the revolution never really came. They had a pretty substantial hit with the post-Christmas abortion anthem "Brick", but the rest of their output never got the same attention outside of a rabidly loyal fanbase. The 5 disbanded, Folds got married and went solo. The subsequent Rockin' The Suburbs made bold strides to break from the neo-piano-man mold he fashioned for himself but sometimes felt too intentionally different. Again, fans dug it. The larger audience didn't feel a thing.

With a new recording project slated for release in 2004, Folds recently found himself with lots of valuable studio time. So what's a guy to do when he's given such a free hand? If he's smart, he grabs that hand and gives it a shake. With help from friend and co-producer John Mark Painter, formerly of the duo Fleming and John, that shake has become a series of eclectic extended singles, Speed Graphic and Sunny 16, both released directly from Folds' site on pseudo-indie Attacked By Plastic. We'll discuss the third e.p. later on, but first let's dig into these two unabashedly piano driven releases.

Speed Graphic starts off with a punchy cover of The Cure's "In Between Days" and I've always been struck at the versatility of pop-piano adaptations' BF5 had a reputation for presenting thoroughly strange but perfectly listenable cover songs. It's nice to see that hasn't changed here. "Give Judy My Notice" is another one of Folds' patented kiss-off songs. He does them well and can work variations of the theme of leaving a lover without coming off as blatantly obvious. "Protection" has a strikingly close kinship to Joe Jackson, particularly the jangly key figure Folds employs, sounding like a slightly more arch cousin to the classic "Steppin' Out": "Dog" shows off the jazzy side and has been floating around in shows for a few years now. It's nice that it's been put down in an official fashion.

Speed Graphic closes with the utterly fascinating "Wandering", a song I set to repeat on a long car ride to nowhere, trying to clear my mind. I get a little worked up at times over failed and doomed romances in my past. I guess everyone does and "Wandering" confirms my suspicions. It has the smell, the taste and the sound of authenticity. Others have made the footsteps I'm stepping into and if music can convey a psychic moment, this song surely did. For these elegant four-plus minutes alone, Speed Graphic is worth it.

Sunny 16 is more caustic, especially "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You" and the scathing "All U Can Eat", a vicious ditty about consumerism, selfishness and just a wee bit of hypocrisy. Lines like "They give no f*** so long as there's enough for them" get the point across without excessive decoration. The rest of the disc keeps the knives sheathed but close at hand. "Learn To Live With What You Are" and "Rockstar" dance around attitudes with aplomb and the cover "Songs Of Love" fits right in. If sequenced correctly, both e.p.s create a pretty satisfying whole.

Then we come to The Bens.

Featuring Ben Kweller, Ben Lee and Ben Folds, this makeshift supergroup is more democratic than I originally assumed it would be and, as a result, becomes a promising entity all its own. The disc starts with the Crosby Stills and Nash-like three part harmonized "Just Pretend", a chance for the three principals to gel as a whole. The next three tracks show off each member's individual eccentricities. "Xfire" sports a garage-rock meets Devoesque synth-rock retro sound. "Stop!" has a disorienting tempo shift and a raw edge. "Bruised", obviously a Folds contribution, may well be one of the best of his career, but let there be no doubt; The Bens may yet be a real band of real substance and I hope these guys consider joining forces again.

That leads me to muse a bit on The Bens. Without naming names, the past few years have seen several alt. rock supergroups rise with lots of press and fall with cold, quiet indifference. Most of the time, it's because the group would be nothing more than a front for a high profile member, more like an all-star backing band for that supposed member's solo. One listen usually made the truth crystal clear. This time it is different and the CSN comparison isn't an overstatement. The possibilities are really kind of exciting.

At less than six bucks per disc, the Folds e.p. series gives the fan a lot of bang for the buck and accomplishes everything an e.p. is meant to accomplish. It gets you psyched for more. Check out www.benfolds.com and see what I mean. Perhaps it wasn't a revolution denied, but a revolution delayed, after all.

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