Capable of Anything - Having spent months with the album cut of the song, it feels a bit old hat when listening to the whole album. That doesn't draw from how fun of a song it is. I was quite enamored with it when I first heard it and felt it was a smart lead to sample the collaboration with yMusic. In fact, I was a bit baffled when Ben talked about "Phone in a Pool" being the single. The song's a bit cacophonous on first listen but that's the magic of the group.
Not a Fan - I always enjoy when Ben goes with a decidedly different style of music from most modern pop. This is a wonderful waltz and I was quite stunned at how beautiful the album cut of it is; even more powerful than what I'd heard of it played live. And I've always loved when the lyric is completely incongruous with the music in Ben's work. This is a terrific example. It does feel a bit oddly placed on the album, though there isn't really a strong ebb and flow to the album.
So There - Terrific title song. The harmonies with Gracie are superb. The use of the strings throughout is marvelous. And it's one of the best showcases of Ben's piano playing in his catalog. And it just might feature his best telling off of someone in any of his songs.
Long Way to Go - I'm particularly partial to this song because I absolutely loved the refrain when it popped up on the Way to Normal fake leak. The chorus does feel a bit tacked on to the rest of the lyrics, but this feels like a drinking song in a darkened corner booth of a bar and it's a wonderful character. The boozy horns are delicious and I dig the rather '70s feel of the whole thing. The carnival atmosphere of the falling voices during the bridge is a nice flair.
Phone in a Pool - I like the song and it's imminently listenable. There are terrific lyrics throughout, though while I enjoy the chorus, it's one of those that I like in one listen and can't stand in the next. To be honest, though, I'm not as big on the song as most everyone else.
Yes Man - I was surprised to take to this song. Upon my first few listens, it wasn't really connecting, but I suddenly found it one that just kept sticking in my craw. The plaintive open followed by the double-tracked opening vocals makes for one of the more distinctive songs on the album. And the swells of the chorus are some of the best vocal elements Ben's ever recorded. It's a beautiful, moody piece that feels as full of regret as the lyrics suggest. This is one of the real highlights of the album for me.
F10-D-A - Just a fun, dorky cavalcade. I love the claps and the overall structure.
I'm Not the Man - This is a gorgeous song with a poignant lyric that really hit home. I know the concerto follows but there feels like a clear separation between the chamber music and the orchestral, so this is a pseudo album closer. It follows a grand tradition of strong, moving last tracks on Ben's albums ("Prison Food" the odd song out in that group).
Concerto - I'm just not ready to really break down the concerto. There's a lot to it and I don't feel that I've really got a grasp of it all yet. I do love that you can feel Ben's musical training/background in it, but as for "classical" music, it definitely feels filtered through Gershwin and Joplin and Berlin and that 20th Century lens of classical music. And true to Ben, it doesn't follow traditional classical music format, which I'm sure will probably cause the purists to wince. The one thing that really does stand out to me about it, much like "Thank You for Breaking My Heart" really made the case for Ben to write a stage musical, is that his desire to score a film could be very well realized.