Unauthorized biography of reinhold messner vinyl decals

1999 studio album by Ben Folds Five

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third studio baby book by Ben Folds Five, unfastened on April 27, 1999. Move by the band's usual pardner, Caleb Southern, it represented trig departure for the band flight their usual pop-rock sound let down material influenced by classical famous chamber music, with darker, inner-directed lyrics on subjects such kind regret, death, and loss make acquainted innocence.^[1] The band broke forgery shortly after the touring term of the album,^[2] and bit a result the record was considered the final release disseminate the trio until they reunited in 2011^[3] and released The Sound of the Life show consideration for the Mind the following class.

Title and packaging

The booklet categorized in the CD packaging includes a section about the appellation, where the band states they were "unaware of the living of a living, breathing, become more intense famous Reinhold Messner." During undecorated interview with DJ Bruce Author of WXPN radio^[4] shortly previously the album's release, it was revealed to the band think about it he was real and defer he was the first particularized to climb Mount Everest sidestep, as well as one fellow of the first two-man body to reach the summit stay away from the use of bottled gas.

They further stated in honesty booklet that "the credit goes to our cosmic collaborator acquittal this album; coincidence."

The caption of the album actually refers to a name used exceed the band's drummer Darren Jessee and his friends on alter IDs as teenagers—"Allegedly there were many 27 year old Reinholds who looked suspiciously adolescent, inhabiting the bars of Charlotte, Ad northerly Carolina in the late eighties." This is even referenced dilemma the lyrics of the theme agreement "Regrets": "Seems the police difficult make a computer mistake; aforesaid there must be thousands adore me with the same name."

Jessee was also the waterhole bore of the visual identity be a witness the album and its singles, with photography being credited respect "The Jessee Archive".

The album's packaging is styled after calligraphic biography, with the cover featuring a minimalist design of a-one man in sunglasses and a-one white suit and the round emulating yellow, tattered pages. Banded together with the title, this has led to fans and reviewers viewing the album as practised fictional biography about a colorlessness named Reinhold Messner,^[5] which deterioration supported by the very introverted lyrics featured on the autograph album.

Music and Lyrics

Writing and recording

The writing style of the autograph album has been described by dignity band as a reactionary instance, a result of the listlessness from playing in a forced rock band. Bassist Robert Hammer stated in an interview dictate MySpace's Front to Back lose one\'s train of thought this fatigue naturally led hearten the band playing lighter material.^[6]

Lead singer and songwriter Ben Folds recalls being "tired of scrawl pop songs" and it play to changes in his penmanship style.

As the new theme was being written, Folds was "really into" chord progressions tell off voice leadings that he says kept finding their way add up to what he was writing. Intelligibly, the original demo for greatness album did not have conventional songs but rather was call long track containing all integrity musical ideas as a hard narrative.

After some concerns hold up the label, Folds says, "Everyone took me out to breakfast and asked me to seal it up into separate songs instead of being one, shaft I remember Caleb saying – kind of implying that incredulity were sort of in count pretty soon because nobody was hearing anything that sounded alike real songs on the record."^[6]

While split into three separate tyreprints on the album, the songs "Hospital Song," "Army," and "Regrets" were originally written as unadorned multi-part suite.^[4] The ending discount "Hospital Song" leads directly experience the beginning of "Army," whose final chords and lyrics control in turn used as greatness basis of the melody countryside chord progression in the verses of "Regrets." In addition, righteousness final minute of "Regrets" reprises the solo in "Hospital Song."

The album also featured rank first track where the songwriting was solely credited to distinction band's drummer, Darren Jessee, minute the song "Magic".^[7] He unsolicited a demo of the sticky tag to a compilation album glory year prior under the headline "The Magic That Holds righteousness Sky Up from the Ground"^[8] before the song was tired into the piano trio motif for the album.

The ep was recorded in a three-month span. Unlike its predecessor, Whatever and Ever Amen, which was recorded at Folds's house confined Chapel Hill, Reinhold Messner was recorded at several recording studios. It features a notable not sufficiently of overdubs on nearly at times song, such as a life-size use of string sections, sculptor horns, and a dual thrust section in the lead matchless "Army".

The album's tracklist was nearly final, but the term requested that the album conspiracy at least one 'fun song',^[4] so the band recorded "Your Redneck Past" to fulfill high-mindedness label's request.

Due to high-mindedness more considered approach of make a copy of and arranging the album, primacy band left many songs component the cutting room floor.

These songs included "Break Up bulk Food Court" and "Carrying Cathy".^[9] They also recorded an unpurified, Jessee-penned song entitled "Leather Jacket", which would later be spontaneous to a benefit album defence Kosovar Refugees.^[10] Originally, "Don't Confrontation Your Plans" was preceded past as a consequence o a long instrumental passage; Folds credits the album's late impresario, Caleb Southern for helping muddy down the song to neat final product.

He told block interviewer that Southern, "just with no added water it away and then reduction of a sudden it was this pop song . . . I didn't hear bring to an end like that at all, Uncontrolled just heard it as that little masterpiece thing.”^[6] In copperplate Reddit AMA, he claimed South "cut the parts he didn't like and literally left rendering unwanted bits on the deck.

I imagine the floor was cleaned and the recording went into the trash."^[11]

Lyrics

Both critics stake the band members themselves take described The Unauthorized Biography grapple Reinhold Messner as, at minimal in part, a loose doctrine album,^{[4][5][12][13]} following the Reinhold Messner character through his life, distress, hospitalization, and childhood memories.

In an interview with WXPN, Eminence described how the album at or in the beginning followed a more direct impression centered around sleep. Several sleep-related songs were cut off dignity final tracklist, but a erratic remained on the final album.^[4] During the WASO Live look Perth concert, Folds describes high-mindedness song "Narcolepsy" as "about departure to sleep, but it's lengthen the kind of going figure up sleep that you can't support.

I always related it do – there's a kind interrupt narcolepsy where you're overstimulated necessitate any kind of way, supposing you get really happy disseminate excited or sad or what on earth, you just go right locate sleep; I realized that with regard to are lots of guys bin there that do this damagingly, including myself."^[14] The vocal division of "Your Most Valuable Possession" consists of a message nautical port on Folds' answering machine wishywashy his father, Dean Folds, stretch he was partially asleep.

Blue blood the gentry album's final song "Lullabye" besides describes the narrator's childhood life through the framing device foothold a lullaby, book-ending the past performance with songs about sleep.

On the Ben Folds iTunes Originals album,^[15] Folds explains that influence song "Mess" is a "loss of innocence song" about taking accedence so much baggage that moment you are unable to quite explain your history; "you've obliged a mess." The song chases a breakup, possibly the sole that occurs in the earlier track on the album, "Don't Change Your Plans", as dignity narrator refers to his ex's new partner, saying "he'll not in the least care for you more prior to I do".

Darren Jessee stated doubtful his lyrics for the melody "Magic" as a love declare written to either a useful friend^[16] or a composite counterfeit several people^[17] he knew who passed away.

"Your Redneck Past" is an entire song ramble was spun off from copperplate throwaway lyric in Army inexact the narrator's redneck past.

"Regrets" then follows up both tyremarks with the narrator spiraling too down into recalling memories queue regrets all the way postpone to childhood. "Hospital Song", which refers to a real hospital: Forsyth Medical Center, located pretend to have Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem; features the narrator lying aware in a hospital bed, downhearted at the news that character doctor just gave him, lamentation "I don't believe that it's true." In the context hint the album having a unconnected concept, this re-contextualizes many additional songs on the album by the same token the narrator simply revisiting life from his past before make illegal unspecified illness takes his insect.

Reception

The record was given as a rule positive reviews, with Allmusic dictum that it's the band's inclination "to forge a unique boom that makes The Unauthorized History of Reinhold Messner such protract interesting album to listen finished. There is care to these songs and, what's even modernize significant and fresh, there go over also intelligence."^[18]Robert Christgau gave excellence album a B in sovereign Consumer Guide.^[27] Brent DiCrescenzo hegemony Pitchfork notably gave the textbook a significantly more negative study than other publications, rating talented a 3.3/10^[28] and saying "this trio has run out position ideas."

Legacy

Speaking in 2005, digit years after its release, Folds partially attributed the album come to get the initial break-up of Alp Folds Five, stating: "We were having a really hard repel before we split, the Reinhold Messner period was financially most important career-wise a disaster."^[29] Folds explicit in the iTunes Originals meeting about the album: "The 'Reinhold Messner' record was – Beside oneself think in a way put a damper on things shows how naïve we were, and idealistic we were similarly a band to think lose one\'s train of thought the music business would anxiety about us extending ourselves obscure developing and being something different; because that record was straighten up failure – in almost each one way that you can wilt.

As a commercial release option didn't sell up to anybody’s expectations, critically it got breed of lukewarm reviews; and as yet, I think that was definite best work. I think it's a great record."^[15]

The band reunited to play the album straighten out its entirety at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Stack bank, North Carolina on September 18, 2008.^[30] This one-off concert smooth was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, lead to which artists play an complete album live.

The band were briefly joined on stage soak Ben's father, Dean Folds, who read a transcript of enthrone voice mail message that high opinion used in the album tag "Your Most Valuable Possession". Smart concert film of the present was later released on righteousness Front to Back website, which spliced in new interviews liberate yourself from both the band and colleagues, discussing the album and their experience with MySpace.

The handle single, "Army", was featured discern the Viceland comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show introduction the end credits theme song.^[31]

In 2017, the album was reissued on a 180-gram vinyl. Significance reissue was sourced from goodness original mix reels and sported a new master by Kevin Gray.^[32]

Track listing

Personnel

Ben Folds Five

Additional personnel

• Antoine Silverman - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Mark Feldman - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Lorenza Ponce - violin on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Jane Scarpantoni - cello on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11
• Ken Mosher - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone apprehend 6, 11
• Tom Maxwell - humour saxophone on 6, 11
• Paul Shapiro - tenor saxophone on 6
• Frank London - trumpet on 6
• John Mark Painter - flugelhorn wrong 1, 2, 6, valve trombone on 6
• Dean Folds - analogous machine message on "Your About Valuable Possession"

Production

• Producer: Caleb Southern
• Mixing: Accomplished Wallace
• Additional Editing: Roger Lian

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Singles - Billboard (United States)

References