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The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
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The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the fourth and final studio album by Ben Folds Five, released April 27, 1999.
The title of the album is said to refer to a name that the band's drummer Darren Jessee used on fake IDs as a teenager. The band was unaware of the existence of a real Reinhold Messner, the first man to climb Mount Everest without the aid of an oxygen tank, until work on the album had already progressed. Messner later contacted Ben Folds Five to let them know that he was highly pleased with the album. He is thanked in the record's liner notes for his understanding and cooperation.
The band has announced that it will reunite to play the album in its entirety in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 18, 2008.[1] The show will be streamed live online as a part of MySpace's Front to Back series, with a repeat airing sometime in October.
Song information
At least two songs, "Break Up at Food Court" and "Carrying Cathy", were recorded during these sessions, but were neither released nor played live by the band. Folds would later re-record "Carrying Cathy" for his debut solo release, Rockin' The Suburbs.
The song "Your Most Valuable Possession" is an actual message left on Folds' answering machine by his father, Dean Folds. Originally, "Don't Change Your Plans" was preceeded by a long instrumental passage, but credits producer Caleb Southern for helping edit down the song to it's final product: 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.” On the Ben Folds iTunes Originals, Folds explains that the song "Mess" is "loss of innocence song" about having so much baggage that now you are unable to completely explain your history; "you've made a mess."
Track listing
All songs written by Ben Folds except as indicated.
- "Narcolepsy" – 5:24
- "Don't Change Your Plans" – 5:11
- "Mess" – 4:03
- "Magic" (Darren Jessee) – 4:02
- "Hospital Song" – 2:05
- "Army" – 3:25
- "Your Redneck Past" – 3:43
- "Your Most Valuable Possession" (Ben Folds/Darren Jessee/Robert Sledge/Dean Folds/Caleb Southern) – 1:55
- "Regrets" – 4:07
- "Jane" – 2:42
- "Lullabye" (Ben Folds/Anna Goodman) – 3:53
- "(Theme From) Dr. Pyser" (Australian bonus track)
"Birds" (Japanese bonus track)
Personnel
Ben Folds Five
Additional personnel
Production
- Producer: Caleb Southern
- Mixing: Andy Wallace
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1999 |
The Billboard 200 |
35 |
| 1999 |
Top Internet Albums |
3 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1999 |
"Army" |
Modern Rock Tracks |
17 |
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