Cheap Ben Folds Five - The Complete Sessions at West 54th (DVD) (Jim Gable) Price

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Customer Reviews of Ben Folds Five - The Complete Sessions at West 54th

Excellent- Highly Recommended
I am watching this DVD once more as I write this review. Ben Folds Five had great live shows- I know I loved going to them. This DVD features them in a more sober and intimate audience. Their performance is tight. We even catch Ben Folds himslef being slightly uncomfortable and maybe even nervous in this setting. The performances of Smoke and Missing the War are true gems- truly highlighting the depth of Ben Folds' talent at songwriting. Exciting to many will be the performances of "Theme From Dr. Pyser" and a Flaming Lips cover of "She Don't Use Jelly" interpreted as a lounge song. The mix of fifteen songs is great- though I was saddened to find that "Fair" was not among them. Don't be shy because you are looking for a a more frentetic live show- great clips are included in the spare Reels footage and Folds does manage to stomp on the keys and slam down on them with his forearm a few time during the West 54th performance. Even his trademark high-voiced "Are you ready to rock now" appears.
For those to whom the band was dear we find a poingant moment where we can watch a group of talented musicians that never quite fit anywhere- Somehwere in-between obscurity and fame, between indie-rock and pop, between promising debut in their self-titled Ben Folds Five and the critical acclaim(and commercial disapointment) of Rheinhold Messner.
For those who do not know the band- they were the most underrated rock band of the nineties- that provided a refuge both from the absurdly and psudo-morose rockings of the last gasp of "Alternative", the middle of the road mediocrity of Green Day and also a place of shelter from the gratingly mechanical glitter pop whose ressurection began in America with Hanson whose debut came around the time of this performance. Fortunately- still living under the dark clouds of the boys and blondes of Pop- I can kick back with my friends and watch great music being performed by a great band.

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A great performance...a great DVD...not there best songs...
Im a big Ben Folds Five fan. When i seen this DVD it was a dream come true. While its a great DVD, i feel there best albums are "Ben Folds Five" and "Autobiography of Reinhold Messner". Unfortunately this performance is before "Autobiography of..." was even recorded, so there's no songs performed from it (obviously), and only a few from there first album "Ben Folds 5". That means the majority of the performance is made up from there 2nd and in my opinion, worst album "Whatever and Ever Amen". But even there worst album is actually a good album.

As far as the DVD, the picture is really crisp and nice. Theres subtitles so u can sing along (incase you ddont know the words), and the Dolby Digital is pretty good. The bonus 45 minute "film" is pretty good, but it actually contains 2 performances from the beginning of the DVD which is kinda lame but oh well.

I might be going a little far with a 5 star rating, but theres a good chance this will be the only Ben Folds 5 DVD ever released, so fans must get it.

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Ben Folds Five will rock your socks off
great dvd! the sound and picture quality are superb...some of the songs sound better here than the recorded versions on the albums. all the band members are funny, flawless and experimental with all types of music and in using their instruments. its over an hour long, so you get to hear all your favorites, but keep in mind that this was recorded right after their second album was on it.....but also, there is a bonus 45 minutes called "spare reels" where you can see live performances, recording sessions for newer songs, and the guys just goofing around. finally, one of the coolest things i think is the you have the option of including the lyrics as subtitles during the show....LIKE SING ALONG VIDEOS!