Ben Folds and Waso Live in Perth

Ben Folds  // Waso 

This isn't the first, nor most infamous occasion in which an attempt to merge rock and roll with an orchestra has taken place.  Heck, that was the whole point of ELO, but stick with me here.  What Ben Folds has done here is interesting in that the release before this was a live album with just Ben and a piano, and we got a chance to hear songs in a stripped down way.  Now we get to hear some of those same songs with the ninety-man Western Australia Symphony Orchestra backing them up.  Again, neither of these things is earth shattering.  But what makes these projects work, most specifically the orchestral job in question, is a combination of the quality of the music and Ben's attitude towards it.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, cliche.
This is, the performance is incredibly genuine.  Ben has a great respect for WASO and expresses it between most songs.  He makes sure that the local composers who did the arrangements get credit for it.  The audience are included (as always), even participate in "Not the Same" the same as they do on Ben Folds Live, forming an impromptu choir.
The arrangements are usually excellent, but some are going to be a matter of taste.  The use of a tenor on "Narcolepsy" for example.  It really threw me off the first time, but since then I've come to accept, and even embrace, it.  It adds to the feeling of pandemonium in the climax of the song.  "Evaporated" sounds incredibly natural, as it has a string arrangement on the album, the horns and everything makes it even fuller [more full?], "Boxing", "the Luckiest" and "Lullabye" are the same way, the latter getting a dose of saxophone solo.  "Zak and Sara" and "Annie Waits" get a healthy boost in bombast.  The chatter between songs is great, but maybe the most exciting bit is when somebody calls out for the improv/joke number "Rock this Bitch".  Ben proceeds to lead the whole orchestra in it, and calls for solos.  Brilliant stuff.
Good arrangements, great performance, amazing atmosphere.

Final verdict: happy times with a giant band.  Great for fans of either Ben Folds or concert DVDs [or both!]

Related Links:

Ben Folds Official Website

Waso Official Website

Buy This DVD

Buy Ben Folds Live 

Related Audio:

Not the Same

[audio:http://www.lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/Ben%20Folds%20-%20Ben%20Folds%20%20_%20not%20the%20same.mp3]

Rock This Bitch

[audio:http://www.lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/Ben%20Folds%20-%20Ben%20Folds%20%20_%20rock%20this%20bitch.mp3]

Zak and Sara

[audio:http://www.lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/Ben%20Folds%20with%20WASO%20-%2001%20Zak%20and%20Sara.mp3]