The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
Studio album by
Ben Folds Five
ReleasedApril 27, 1999
RecordedNovember 1998 – January 1999
Genre
Length40:30
Label550, Caroline
ProducerCaleb Southern
Ben Folds Five chronology
Naked Baby Photos
(1998)		 The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
(1999)		 The Sound of the Life of the Mind
(2012)
Singles from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
  1. "Army"
    Released: 1999
  2. "Don't Change Your Plans"
    Released: 1999

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third studio album by Ben Folds Five, released on April 27, 1999. It represented a departure for the band from their usual pop-rock sound to material influenced by classical and chamber music, with darker, introspective lyrics on subjects such as regret, death, and loss of innocence.[1] It was the last full-length album from the trio until the release of The Sound of the Life of the Mind in 2012. It was produced by Caleb Southern.[2]

Background

Title origin

The title of the album refers to a name used by the band's drummer Darren Jessee and his friends on fake IDs as teenagers. The band was unaware of the existence of the real Reinhold Messner, the first man to climb Mount Everest solo, and the first to do so without the aid of bottled oxygen, until work on the album had already progressed. They were informed of his existence in 1999 during an interview with DJ Bruce Warren of WXPN radio.[3] In the record's liner notes, Messner is thanked for his understanding and cooperation.

Writing and recording

The writing style of the album has been described by the band as a reactionary process, a result of the fatigue from playing in a bombastic rock band. Bassist Robert Sledge stated in an interview with Front to Back that this fatigue naturally led to the band playing lighter material.

Lead singer and songwriter Ben Folds recalls being "tired of writing pop songs" and it led to changes in his writing style. As the new material was being written, Folds was "really into" chord progressions and voice leadings that he says kept finding their way into what he was writing. Naturally, the original demo for the album did not have traditional songs but rather was one long track containing all the musical ideas as a cohesive narrative. After some concerns from the label, Folds says, "Everyone took me out to lunch and asked me to split it up into separate songs instead of being one, and I remember Caleb saying – kind of implying that we were sort of in trouble pretty soon because nobody was hearing anything that sounded like real songs on the record."

The album was recorded in a three-month span. Unlike its predecessor, Whatever and Ever Amen, which was recorded at Folds's house in Chapel Hill, Reinhold Messner was recorded at several recording studios. It features a notable amount of overdubs such as a heavy use of string sections, french horns, and a prominent horn section in the lead single "Army".

Songs

Both critics and the band members themselves have described The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner to be a loose concept album,[3][4][5][6] following the Reinhold Messner character through his life, heartache, hospitalization, and childhood memories.

During the WASO Live in Perth concert, Folds describes the song "Narcolepsy" as "about going to sleep, but it's about the kind of going to sleep that you can't help. I always related it to – there's a kind of narcolepsy where you're overstimulated in any kind of way, if you get really happy or excited or sad or whatever, you just go right to sleep; I realized that there are lots of guys out there that do this emotionally, including myself."

Originally, "Don't Change Your Plans" was preceded by a long instrumental passage; Folds credits Southern for helping edit down the song to its final product, and told an interviewer that Southern, "just cut it away and then all of a sudden it was this pop song. And then it was like ‘Oh okay. I see what you’re talking about.’ Cause I didn't hear it like that at all. I just heard it as this little masterpiece thing.” In a Reddit AMA, Folds claims Southern "cut the parts he didn't like and literally left the unwanted bits on the floor. I imagine the floor was cleaned and the recording went into the trash."[7]

On the Ben Folds iTunes Originals, Folds explains that the song "Mess" is a "loss of innocence song" about having so much baggage that now you are unable to completely explain your history; "you've made a mess."

The hospital referred to in "Hospital Song" is a real hospital: Forsyth Medical Center, located on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The vocal portion of "Your Most Valuable Possession" consists of a message left on Folds' answering machine by his father, Dean Folds, while he was partially asleep.

Outtakes

The band recorded the songs "Leather Jacket" (written by Jessee) and "Birds" (an instrumental written by Sledge) during the Reinhold Messner sessions; the songs were not included on the album, but were released as b-sides on the "Army" and "Don't Change Your Plans" singles. "Leather Jacket" would also later appear on the charity compilation No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees.

At least two songs, "Break Up at Food Court" and "Carrying Cathy", were played during these sessions, but were neither released nor played live by the band.[8] Folds would later officially record "Carrying Cathy" for his debut solo release, Rockin' the Suburbs. A demo for "Break Up at Food Court" was also later released in 2011, on "The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[10]
The Guardian[11]
Melody Maker[12]
NME7/10[13]
Pitchfork3.3/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Spin8/10[17]
The Village VoiceB[18]

The record was given generally positive reviews, with Allmusic saying that it's the band's willingness "to forge a unique sound that makes The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner such an interesting album to listen to. There is care to these songs and, what's even more significant and fresh, there is also intelligence."[9] Robert Christgau gave the album a B in his Consumer Guide.[18]

Legacy

Folds stated in the iTunes Originals interview about the album: "The 'Reinhold Messner' record was – I think in a way it shows how naïve we were, and idealistic we were as a band to think the music business would care about us extending ourselves and developing and being something different, because that record was a failure – in almost every way that you can fail. As a commercial release, it didn't sell up to anybody’s expectations; critically, it got sort of lukewarm reviews; and yet, I think that was our best work. I think it's a great record."

Speaking in 2005, six years after its release, Folds partially attributed the album to the initial break-up of Ben Folds Five, stating: "We were having a really hard time before we split, the Reinhold Messner period was financially and career-wise a disaster."[19]

The band reunited to play the album in its entirety at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 18, 2008.[20] This one-off concert appearance was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band were briefly joined on stage by Ben's father, Dean Folds, who read a transcript of his voice mail message that is used in the album song "Your Most Valuable Possession".

In 2017, the album was reissued on a 180-gram vinyl. The reissue was sourced from the original mix reels and sported a new master by Kevin Gray.

The lead single, "Army", was featured in the Viceland comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show as the end credits theme song.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Folds, except where noted

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Narcolepsy" 5:24
2."Don't Change Your Plans" 5:11
3."Mess" 4:03
4."Magic"Darren Jessee4:02
5."Hospital Song" 2:05
6."Army" 3:25
7."Your Redneck Past" 3:43
8."Your Most Valuable Possession"Folds, Jessee, Robert Sledge, Dean Folds, Caleb Southern1:55
9."Regrets" 4:07
10."Jane" 2:42
11."Lullabye"Folds, Anna Goodman3:53
Total length:40:30
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – Japanese edition (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Birds"Robert Sledge2:09
Total length:42:39
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – Australian edition (bonus track)
No.TitleLength
12."(Theme From) Dr. Pyser"3:14
Total length:43:44

Personnel

Ben Folds Five
Additional personnel

Production

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

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1999 The Billboard 200 35
Top Internet Albums 3

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1999 "Army" Modern Rock Tracks 17

References

  1. ↑ "The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner Turns 20". Stereogum. April 26, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  2. ↑ Griffith, Spencer (September 7, 2008). "A second look at Ben Folds Five's Reinhold Messner". INDY Week. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Ben Folds Five - Truth & Rumors". exit 13. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  4. ↑ Kemp, Mark (September 19, 2008). "Ben Folds Five Revive "Reinhold Messner" at Inaugural MySpace "Front to Back" Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Review - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  6. ↑ Browne, David (May 7, 1999). "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ "I am Ben Folds. I play piano. AMA!". Reddit. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  8. ↑ MTV News article: "Ben Folds Five Fields Fan Queries While Working On New Album."
  9. 1 2 Kurutz, Steve. "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – Ben Folds Five". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Browne, David (May 7, 1999). "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner / Return to the Centre of the Earth". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (April 30, 1999). "Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (Epic)". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ "Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Melody Maker. May 8, 1999. p. 46.
  13. ↑ Long, April (May 4, 1999). "Ben Folds Five – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  14. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent (April 27, 1999). "Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Q. No. 153. June 1999. p. 102.
  16. ↑ DeCurtis, Anthony (May 13, 1999). "Ben Folds: The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  17. ↑ Himmelsbach, Erik (June 1999). "Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 6. p. 140. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (November 16, 1999). "African Connection II". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Ben with the breeze". The Age. 2005-04-01. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  20. ↑ The Suburbs.co.uk: "Did You Just Shit Your Pants? Cause I Sure Did."
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