When
Ben Folds cleans out his refrigerator, the leftovers that come spilling out of the rotten lettuce encrusted crisper may taste a bit better than most, but they're still leftovers.
Supersunnyspeedgraphic: The LP collects the best moments from 2003's
Speed Graphic and
Sunny 16, 2004's Bens (
Ben Lee,
Ben Kweller and
Folds) and
Super D, and 2005's Landed. For the most part, these EPs contained fairly vintage funny/whimsical/bitter/poignant/foul-mouthed for the sake of irony-
Ben Folds with some typically eclectic covers thrown in for good measure. From the pure
Good Old Boys-era
Randy Newman-esque "All You Can Eat" to the sticky-sweet '70s balladry of "Learn to Live with What You Are,"
Folds can either infuriate or charm the pants off of you, depending on which camp you're in, but the force-fed irony of
Snoop Dogg's "Bitches Ain't Shit" and the
Darkness' "Get Your Hands Off My Woman" keep better attempts at the tribute song, like
the Cure's "In Between Days" and the Divine Comedy's excellent "Songs of Love" from looking good enough to eat. ~ James Christopher Monger