Tuesday September 25, 2001

Rockin' the Suburbs

(Epic)

Grade: A

Piano rock is not a very mainstream sound for the new millennium, unless Elton John -who is getting pretty old - still counts.

That is why the new Ben Folds album, Rockin' the Suburbs, turns out to be a fresh point of view on rock music from the piano's perspective.

Folds' previous efforts came with his band Ben Folds Five. He now goes it solo and some people may wonder if anything has changed. Luckily for all, he hasn't changed. In fact, it is very clear that the newest piano man used some quality time to create a record that is not only catchy, but incorporates humor and depth. The lyrics alone, sometimes funny and other times sad and mysterious, are worth the money spent on the album.

The same slapstick humor that filled previous albums still appears in many of the songs. Note the lyrics "let me tell y'all what it's like/ being male, middle class and white/ it's a bitch if you don't believe/ listen up to my new CD," from the title track "Rockin' the Suburbs."

This is not to say Folds lost his ability to write serious songs. They have become short, dramatic stories. The album brims with tragedy, love and loss.

Folds is a solo artist worth a watch and listen. He played all of the instruments on the album and wrote all of the music, something to be commended considering the singer-songwriters of today. This record is truly "rockin'" and offers a nice break from the icon-driven pop of mainstream MTV that has dominated Top-40 music for too long.