This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Piano popster Ben Folds claims he and his two-man Five used the name Reinhold Messner on fake IDs as teens, unaware it was the handle of a famous mountaineer.
Which has squat to do with this eclectic trio’s third album, except perhaps metaphorically. This time out, you see, Ben seems to be scaling a new peak — getting off the well-trod, goofy Broadway pop-rock path he’s been following and forging a new trail of lush, melancholy ballads of isolation and disconnection, offset only occasionally by Folds’ joyful melodies and oddball self-deprecation. Why is he doing this? Who knows? Maybe it’s because it’s there. But there’s no question he’s hit a high point.
