WtN follow-up album due in 2016

Frank Maynard reporting on his site that Ben and his touring band are recording  a new album in Ireland, slated for a 2016 release.  Says the new songs are all inspired by  "Rock This Bitch" improvs . . . again. 

http://www.magicalarmchair.com/2015/01/reunion-album-slated-for-2016/

So assuming they'll tour in 2016 off the new album, guessing that means it'll be awhile before we get another BFF reunion.  Still, it'll be great to get two new albums from Ben in two years.

Interesting...

Lot of music coming out in the next two to three years.

not too excited about that. he's just got that 2015 record happening (which seems awesome), I don't want the material to be spread too thin or rushed.

I think he spent so much time doing the concerto he's anxious to clear out the backlog of ideas he's had kicking around but hasn't had an outlet for.

Let's not forget that the tracks Ben Folds Band put together as the fake WTN were some of the best work he produced in that era. I'm really excited for that release.

I think he spent so much time doing the concerto he's anxious to clear out the backlog of ideas he's had kicking around but hasn't had an outlet for.

Yeah, that sounds pretty likely.  The only thing that doesn't excite me is the backing band, specifically Sam.  I think he's a good drummer, but I just don't think his style meshes particularly well with Ben's music.  The drummers with a bit of jazz flair (Darren and Lindsay) have always sounded the best.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you on that point. I think Sam brings something special to the table, and that's chemistry with Ben. They have a lot of fun playing together, and we get some fantastic improvs out of that. In just over two decades of following Ben's career and seventy-some shows under my belt, I think Ben Folds Band (officially unofficial name for Ben, Sam, Chad, Andrew, and Ryan) just might be my favorite non-5 group Ben's assembled. They're just fun to watch play together - and I've enjoyed their recordings as well.

Of course this is a highly subjective, opinion-based conversation, so I get that YMMV. Just my two cents.

It's the Rock This Bitch angle that doesn't have me especially excited for this album.  To be honest, I haven't really liked many (if any) of the previous songs based on RtB improvs.  The sort of stream-of-conscious, rambling lyrics of Hiroshima, Cologne, Effington and Do It Anyway just don't feel particularly inspired to me.  It's a shame though, cause Effington has one of my favorite melodies in Ben's entire catalog. I know Ben disagreed with this point, but I gotta agree with the reviews of WtN that thought the lyrics were too cynical. 

One, holy shit an active thread, where have I been?

I agree with both of you on two different points. I agree with Justin, I love the five piece set up, I miss Jared's stage presence from that five, but Ryan is great as a musician in his own right (I love his solo album a lot) and I'm sure all of his work on some huge tours in his time away from Ben will have changed that aspect completely. Ben Folds crowds are gonna seem tiny in comparison to what Michael Buble pulls.

Secondly, I agree that if it's all RtB inspired I hope the lyrics get a re-work, or something. Part of what drew me into the Folds world in the beginning was the lyricism, and I know Ben has routinely said that's the hardest part of the job for him, but I have always valued how great of a story teller he is, and the stream-of-consciousness songs don't work as well for me as the third person stories, or something more heartfelt. That being said, it's been quite a long time since Folds put out a record he is the sole songwriter on (2008, not including, the concerto based record) so hopefully these have had time to simmer and be perfected. That's one thing that I've always imagined Ben was lacking when it wasn't as much of a team - do the guys in the rest of the band make suggestions like Darren (and Anna) used to? I could be inventing all of that; but Ben's much more the "boss" in this layout than mostly equal parts (except songwriting credit; therefore payday).

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you on that point. I think Sam brings something special to the table, and that's chemistry with Ben. They have a lot of fun playing together, and we get some fantastic improvs out of that. In just over two decades of following Ben's career and seventy-some shows under my belt, I think Ben Folds Band (officially unofficial name for Ben, Sam, Chad, Andrew, and Ryan) just might be my favorite non-5 group Ben's assembled. They're just fun to watch play together - and I've enjoyed their recordings as well.

Of course this is a highly subjective, opinion-based conversation, so I get that YMMV. Just my two cents.

Ah -- I think I've only seen Ben with Sam & co. maybe once actually, so I just can't speak as much to the live chemistry you allude to.  It's really just a personal preference thing to listen to as a drummer.

So, Phone in a Pool was pulled from this album. I do hope that Ben takes some time to look at what he recorded and improve upon it, etc. And even if the album is already perfect, I hope he does give it a little time before releasing it. At least 2017. So There should have some time to be in the spotlight.

not too excited about that. he's just got that 2015 record happening (which seems awesome), I don't want the material to be spread too thin or rushed.

It's funny. I was cataloging Beatles songs the other day and it made me take a look at the schedule of their album releases, something I was familiar with but hadn't really spent a huge amount of time thinking upon.  Obviously, it was a different time back then and so much of the money and a career was spent on getting music out to the public, but they pretty much released two to three albums a year for a roughly 7-year period.  When you put that in context, that's an astounding output.

When I think about Ben's work in a similar context, I wouldn't have any issue with him doing annual releases.  It was that sort of energy and dialogue with his audience that he was going for with the EPs.

Quote from: Steady As She Goes on February 24, 2015, 07:48:42 PM

not too excited about that. he's just got that 2015 record happening (which seems awesome), I don't want the material to be spread too thin or rushed.

It's funny. I was cataloging Beatles songs the other day and it made me take a look at the schedule of their album releases, something I was familiar with but hadn't really spent a huge amount of time thinking upon.  Obviously, it was a different time back then and so much of the money and a career was spent on getting music out to the public, but they pretty much released two to three albums a year for a roughly 7-year period.  When you put that in context, that's an astounding output.

When I think about Ben's work in a similar context, I wouldn't have any issue with him doing annual releases.  It was that sort of energy and dialogue with his audience that he was going for with the EPs.

The thing about The Beatles is that
1.) Their first 5 albums very much consisted of covers (Hard Days Night aside)
2.) They had two main songwriters, and a third occasional songwriter. (and Ringo wrote two...worth mentioning)

They did put out a lot of material, but it wasn't exactly a one man show. Also, they were only together for a short period of time. They called it quits before the songwriting began to suffer (see: all four solo careers)

An annual release would be such a horrible thing for Ben. It would be a horrible idea for most artists that plan on sticking around for a while.  The EPs were a different story because they were a less "official" outlet for his songs that probably wouldn't have made the album. They were fun, don't get me wrong, and there are some great songs there, but they're mudded with covers and "old" songs that never found a home on proper albums.

Long story short, quality not quantity. There is not one single artist who has an endless amount of great material in them. If Ben put an album out every since his 95 debut, he'd be on his 21st release. That's a bit much.

An annual release would be such a horrible thing for Ben. It would be a horrible idea for most artists that plan on sticking around for a while.  The EPs were a different story because they were a less "official" outlet for his songs that probably wouldn't have made the album. They were fun, don't get me wrong, and there are some great songs there, but they're mudded with covers and "old" songs that never found a home on proper albums.

Long story short, quality not quantity. There is not one single artist who has an endless amount of great material in them. If Ben put an album out every since his 95 debut, he'd be on his 21st release. That's a bit much.

I don't like the 'evolution' of the recording industry.  It seemed like annual releases for many artists continued into the 80s (such as REM), then became 12 songs bi-annually.  Now, it seems like the norm is a 10 song album every 3 years.  That implies it takes over 90 days to complete a 3 minute pop song.

Quote from: Steady As She Goes on July 28, 2015, 02:58:11 PM

An annual release would be such a horrible thing for Ben. It would be a horrible idea for most artists that plan on sticking around for a while.  The EPs were a different story because they were a less "official" outlet for his songs that probably wouldn't have made the album. They were fun, don't get me wrong, and there are some great songs there, but they're mudded with covers and "old" songs that never found a home on proper albums.

Long story short, quality not quantity. There is not one single artist who has an endless amount of great material in them. If Ben put an album out every since his 95 debut, he'd be on his 21st release. That's a bit much.

I don't like the 'evolution' of the recording industry.  It seemed like annual releases for many artists continued into the 80s (such as REM), then became 12 songs bi-annually.  Now, it seems like the norm is a 10 song album every 3 years.  That implies it takes over 90 days to complete a 3 minute pop song.

REM eventually slowed down with their releases in the 90s, making their most commercial albums and singles. I'm really not trying to be the devil's advocate, I'm just saying that there's no release to rush release music. Taking 90 days to complete a 3 minute pop song is certainly not out of the question. When it comes to writing songs, you're really just pulling random ideas out of the dark and hoping you stumble across something that works. It comes easier to some than others, and 99% of songwriters eventually run dry of good ideas and uncharted territory. If it takes a long time to wait to stumble across something that works, then thats what it is. If Ben truly has another brilliant album ready to go, then I suppose there's nothing wrong with putting it out a year after this upcoming one, but I would expect less public interest in it due to it being overshadowed by the last album still being relevant.

REM eventually slowed down with their releases in the 90s, making their most commercial albums and singles. I'm really not trying to be the devil's advocate, I'm just saying that there's no release to rush release music.

I disagree...with the exception of the break they took following the Green tour, they released studio albums yearly from 1983 through 1992 (including the majority of their US hits).  They went into a bi-annual schedule 1994-98, then went tri-annual or so from 2001-11.

I think Ben Folds has alluded to this, but if you give an artist X months/years to record an album, they'll use every last second and often will be overdubbing at the 11th hour.

Considering all of the technology in place nowadays (whether it be computerized studios or digital distribution), one would think artists would be able to turn around music at a *faster* rate than during the classic rock era of cutting tape with razor blades and waiting for vinyl to be pressed.