Whatever and Ever Amen
Encyclopedia
Whatever and Ever Amen is the second album
by Ben Folds Five
, released in 1997. A remaster
was made available on March 22, 2005. All of the extra tracks had been previously released (as b-sides, soundtrack contributions, etc.) except for a cover of the Buggles
song "Video Killed the Radio Star
", which is a staple of Ben Folds Five's live show.
occurrences. A phone ring can be heard at approximately 2:56 in "Steven's Last Night in Town;" Ben Folds has said the ring was a friend calling from Minnesota, but it came at such a perfect timing, the band decided to leave it in the song. Robert can be heard laughing slightly after it rings as well. Crickets can also be heard in the background of "Cigarette."
The track "Steven's Last Night in Town" was written about Ben Folds' friend Stephen Short
, a Grammy-Award winning record producer and manager.
The album's title comes from a line in the song "Battle of Who Could Care Less." Helped by a comedic video directed by Norwood Cheek
, "Battle of Who Could Care Less" helped the band break through in the UK in early 1997.
The first track ("One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces") has been covered and recorded by singer-songwriter VanVelzen
, and also by pop rock band De Poema's (in a translated version, with the title changed to "Groot en Belangrijk"; "Big and Important"), both Dutch
acts.
Nick Hornby writes one of his essays in the book 31 Songs
about "Smoke".
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
, released in 1997. A remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
was made available on March 22, 2005. All of the extra tracks had been previously released (as b-sides, soundtrack contributions, etc.) except for a cover of the Buggles
The Buggles
The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...
song "Video Killed the Radio Star
Video Killed the Radio Star
"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song by the British synthpop/New Wave group The Buggles, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979, on Island Records from their debut album The Age of Plastic. It celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by...
", which is a staple of Ben Folds Five's live show.
Album recording
The entire album was recorded in a house Ben Folds rented in Chapel Hill. Due to this fact, the album has several lo-fiLow fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...
occurrences. A phone ring can be heard at approximately 2:56 in "Steven's Last Night in Town;" Ben Folds has said the ring was a friend calling from Minnesota, but it came at such a perfect timing, the band decided to leave it in the song. Robert can be heard laughing slightly after it rings as well. Crickets can also be heard in the background of "Cigarette."
The track "Steven's Last Night in Town" was written about Ben Folds' friend Stephen Short
Stephen Short
Stephen Short is a Grammy Award–winning record producer and operates Ping Pong Music, an artist management company. Many songs he has worked on have gone on to become chart-topping singles that have won Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Golden Globe Awards....
, a Grammy-Award winning record producer and manager.
The album's title comes from a line in the song "Battle of Who Could Care Less." Helped by a comedic video directed by Norwood Cheek
Norwood Cheek
Norwood Cheek is a filmmaker and has directed many music videos for bands such as Superchunk, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Ben Folds Five, AFI, Toenut, 12 Stones, French Kicks, the Donnas, Soul Coughing and many others. He directed an episode of the USA Networks GvsE and has made commercials for X-Large...
, "Battle of Who Could Care Less" helped the band break through in the UK in early 1997.
Track listing
The band
- Ben FoldsBen FoldsBenjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
- PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Lead vocals, MelodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,... - Darren JesseeDarren JesseeDarren Jessee is an American musician and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as the drummer for the alternative rock group Ben Folds Five...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Robert SledgeRobert SledgeRobert Sledge is an American musician, best known for his work with Ben Folds Five.-Biography:Robert Sledge began playing bass guitar at the age of eleven. His brother was playing guitar at his house so he also learned how to play the guitar at the same time...
- Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Double BassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, Backing Vocals
Additional musicians
- John Catchings - CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Alicia Svigals - ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Matt Darriau - ClarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
- Frank LondonFrank LondonFrank London is a New York City-based trumpeter, bandleader, and composer active in klezmer and world music. He also plays various other wind instruments and keyboards, and occasionally sings backup vocals. With The Klezmatics, he won a Grammy award in Contemporary World Music for "Wonder Wheel...
- TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Caleb SouthernCaleb SouthernCaleb Southern is an American musician and record producer. He has worked with Ben Folds Five, Fear of Pop and Archers of Loaf. He currently lives in Downtown Durham, North Carolina, and is a member of Partners Against Crime, District 5.-References:...
- Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard... - Norwood CheekNorwood CheekNorwood Cheek is a filmmaker and has directed many music videos for bands such as Superchunk, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Ben Folds Five, AFI, Toenut, 12 Stones, French Kicks, the Donnas, Soul Coughing and many others. He directed an episode of the USA Networks GvsE and has made commercials for X-Large...
- SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
space sound
Production
- Caleb SouthernCaleb SouthernCaleb Southern is an American musician and record producer. He has worked with Ben Folds Five, Fear of Pop and Archers of Loaf. He currently lives in Downtown Durham, North Carolina, and is a member of Partners Against Crime, District 5.-References:...
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, EngineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,... - Ben FoldsBen FoldsBenjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
- Producer, Engineer - Andy WallaceAndy Wallace (producer)Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
- MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Steve Sisco - Mixing Assistant
- Howie Weinberg - Mastering
- John Mark PainterJohn Mark PainterJohn Mark Painter is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for his role, with his wife, singer Fleming McWilliams, in the rock and roll duo, Fleming and John....
- String arrangements - Leigh Smiler - Cover Design
- Chris StameyChris StameyChris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...
- Pro-Tools - The KlezmaticsThe KlezmaticsThe Klezmatics are a Grammy Award-winning American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing origins...
- Special Contributor
Chart positions
| Year | Country | Chart | Position | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Japan | Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (top 100) | 6 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | UK Albums Chart | 30 | 3 | |
| United States | Billboard 200 | 42 | ||
| 1998 | Australia | ARIA Albums Chart (top 50) | 9 | 32 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Country | Provider | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Battle of Who Could Care Less" | United States | Billboard | Modern Rock Tracks | 22 |
| United Kingdom | BPI | UK Singles Chart | 26 | ||
| "Kate" | 39 | ||||
| "Brick Brick (song) "Brick" is a song performed by Ben Folds Five released on their 1997 album Whatever and Ever Amen and later on Ben Folds Live. The verses were written by Ben Folds about his high school girlfriend undergoing an abortion, and the chorus was written by the band's drummer, Darren Jessee... " |
United States | Billboard | Modern Rock Tracks | 6 | |
| 1998 | Adult Top 40 | 11 | |||
| Top 40 Mainstream | 17 | ||||
| Australia | ARIA | ARIA Charts | 13 | ||
| "Song for the Dumped" | United States | Billboard | Modern Rock Tracks | 23 | |
Track notes
The lyrics for "Cigarette" were inspired by a newspaper article about a man who sought a divorce from his wife after finding out she had a brain tumour, on the basis that she was not the same person he had married. The "sequel" track, "Fred Jones Part Two", is on Folds' first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs.The first track ("One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces") has been covered and recorded by singer-songwriter VanVelzen
VanVelzen
Roel van Velzen , better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, standing at a mere 4'11", he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and...
, and also by pop rock band De Poema's (in a translated version, with the title changed to "Groot en Belangrijk"; "Big and Important"), both Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
acts.
Nick Hornby writes one of his essays in the book 31 Songs
31 Songs
Songbook is a 2002 collection of 26 essays by English writer Nick Hornby about songs and the particular emotional resonance they carry for him. In the UK, Sony released a stand-alone CD, A Selection of Music from 31 Songs, featuring 18 songs. The hardcover edition of Songbook, published in the U.S...
about "Smoke".