As if getting a set of Ben Folds Five rarities on disc with next week's Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective wasn't enough, Folds, along with Legacy Recordings, vowed to open the vaults even further with the Ben Folds Fifty-Five Vault, a 55-track digital companion, five tracks of which would be given away free with purchase of the new compilation. Today, all the tracks were announced from the vault, and while not all of it is entirely unreleased, there's more than enough to satisfy the biggest Ben Folds fans out there.
Of the tracks, 35 of them are entirely unreleased. There are lots of live takes - both with and without Ben Folds Five along with another live track with The Bens - additional demos, including beloved early songs like "Protection," "Silver Street" and "Lonely" as well as unheard ones like "I Knew That Cha Could," from the Rockin' the Suburbs sessions; and a few other studio goodies. Two more tracks from Ben Folds Five's fourth album sessions with Mitch Easter in 2000 (the sessions which yielded one of the set's standout tracks, "Amelia Bright"), will be revealed - a Robert Sledge-penned (and sung!) track called "Prince Charming" and an unheard tune called "It's All Right with God."
There are another 20 tracks from various compilations and CD singles, and while not all of them are rare (there are some tunes from Folds' Over the Hedge soundtrack in 2006 and B-sides which appeared on Epic's reissue of Whatever and Ever Amen in 2005), there are a few songs of interest. Most of Ben Folds Five's studio B-sides, including a jokey cover of "All Shook Up" and "Birds" (a Sledge-written tune from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner), are collated, as well as some live tracks, like a hilarious, countrified cover of Oasis "Champagne Supernova," touted as "an American standard" to an audience in a London club. There's also "Bizarre Christmas Incident," an over-the-top track written for a Christmas film Folds knew nothing about (the film turned out to be the live-action adaptation of The Grinch (2000), prompting him to quickly write a far less bawdy tune), and an alternate mix of the new Ben Folds Five track "House."
The Ben Folds Fifty-Five Vault looks like it will be available to everyone, not just buyers of the new set. While it does have a price tag of $29.99, it certainly looks worthwhile if you're a fan. Parse the track list after the jump!
- Adelaide (Live in Adelaide 2011) *
- Air - Ben Folds Five (from Godzilla: The Album - Epic Soundtrax EK 69338, 1998)
- All Shook Up - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Kate" - Epic/550 Music 664536 5 (U.K.), 1997)
- Ascent of Stan (Live in New York City 2002) *
- Birds - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Army" - Epic/550 Music 36-79186, 1999)
- Bitch Went Nutz (Live in Amsterdam 2008) *
- Bizarre Christmas Incident (from Maybe This Christmas - Nettwerk 0 6700 30295 2 0, 2002)
- Brick (Live Acoustic 2003) - The Bens *
- Champagne Supernova (Live @ LA2, London - 11/22/1996) - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Battle of Who Could Care Less" - Epic/550 Music 664230 2 (U.K.), 1997)
- Cologne (Piano Orchestra Version) (from "fake leak" of Way to Normal, 2008)
- Dr. Yang (Live in Leuven, Belgium - 11/23/2008) *
- Evaporated (Demo 1992) *
- Family of Me (from Over the Hedge: Music from the Motion Picture - Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax 82876 83669-2, 2006)
- For All the Pretty People - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Kate" - Epic/550 Music 664536 2 (U.K.), 1997)
- Free Coffee (Live in Germany 2008) *
- Girl (B-side of "Rockin' the Suburbs" - Epic 671849 2 (U.K.), 2001)
- Golden Slumbers (Live in NYC 2001) *
- Hava Nagila (Live @ The Marx, Hamburg - 11/5/1996) - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Battle of Who Could Care Less" - Epic/550 Music 664230 5 (U.K.), 1997)
- Heist (from Over the Hedge: Music from the Motion Picture - Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax 82876 83669-2, 2006)
- Hiro's Song (Shaker Version) (Live in Melbourne 2011) *
- Honey Don't - Ben Folds Five (Alternate Take 2000) *
- Hospital Song - Ben Folds Five (Live in Philadelphia 1999) *
- House - Ben Folds Five (Original Mix) *
- I Knew That Cha Could (Demo 2000) *
- In Between Days (Live 2005)
- In Love (Demo 1998) *
- It's All Right with God - Ben Folds Five (Mitch Easter Sessions 2000) *
- Jesusland (Live in Jakarta 2011) *
- Jesusland (Stadium Version) (Live in London 2005) *
- Lonely (Demo 1996) *
- Lost in the Supermarket (from Over the Hedge: Music from the Motion Picture - Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax 82876 83669-2, 2006)
- Make Me Mommy (B-side of "Rockin' the Suburbs" - Epic 671849 2 (U.K.), 2001)
- Mitchell Lane - Ben Folds Five (B-side of "Kate" - Epic/550 Music 664536 5 (U.K.), 1997)
- Mess (with Neil Hannon) (Live in Boston 2007) *
- Narcolepsy (Live in Brussels, Belgium - 11/21/1999) - Ben Folds Five) *
- One Down (B-side of "Rockin' the Suburbs" - Epic 671849 5 (U.K.), 2001)
- Prince Charming - Ben Folds Five (Mitch Easter Sessions 2000) *
- Prologue (outtake from Over the Hedge soundtrack) *
- Protection (Demo 1992) *
- Radio Jingles for Inter-FM (from Songs for Goldfish EP - Attacked by Plastic EL 94452, 2005)
- Rockin' the Suburbs ("Over the Hedge" Version) (from Over the Hedge: Music from the Motion Picture - Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax 82876 83669-2, 2006)
- Say Yes (Live at The A.V. Club 2010) *
- She Don't Use Jelly - Ben Folds Five (from Lounge-a-Palooza - Hollywood Records HR-62072-2, 1997)
- Side of the Road (Alternate Cello Version) (original version from Songs for Goldfish EP - Attacked by Plastic EL 94452, 2005) *
- Silver Street (Demo 1994) *
- Smoke (Demo 1994) *
- Song for the Dumped (Demo 1996) *
- Steven's Last Night in Town (Demo 1996) *
- Theme from "Dr. Pyser" - Ben Folds Five) (B-side to "Army" - Epic/550 Music 667218 2 (U.K.), 1999)
- Underground (Demo 1992) *
- Video Killed the Radio Star - Ben Folds Five (from expanded edition of Whatever and Ever Amen - Epic EK 86082, 2005)
- Where's Summer B? (Live at WNEW 1996) - Ben Folds Five *
- Wild Mountain Thyme (Alternate Take 2010) *
- You to Thank (Live in Adelaide 2011) *
- Your Cheatin' Heart (Live 1996) - Ben Folds Five *
- Your Redneck Past (Live in London 1999) - Ben Folds Five *
Randy Anthony says
Anyone know if "Bizarre Christmas Incident" is the uncensored version?
wardo says
According to the snippet at benfolds.com, it is indeed uncensored.
RoyalScam says
What bitrate does my $29.99 buy me? It would have to be 320k mp3 at the minimum.
Mike Duquette says
Good news, RS! They're indeed 320kbps MP3s.
RoyalScam says
Thanks, Mike!
I'll likely bite on the "Vault"...which should technically be called the "56 Vault)...but if this stuff ever sees the light of day in FLAC or on CD, I'll be royally pi**ed.
Anth says
Still would love if the Folds site sold a CD box set...or maybe just a two-disc set of the unreleased stuff.