Whatever and Ever Amen

Whatever and Ever Amen
Studio album by Ben Folds Five
Released	March 18, 1997
Recorded	September–October 1996, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	49:20
Label	550
Producer	Ben Folds, Caleb Southern
Ben Folds Five chronology
Ben Folds Five (1995) Whatever and Ever Amen (1997) Naked Baby Photos (1998)
Alternative cover
Cover for remastered version (2005)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Pitchfork Media	7.6/10 [3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Whatever and Ever Amen is the second album by Ben Folds Five, released in 1997. A remaster was made available on March 22, 2005. All of the extra tracks had been previously released (as b-sides, soundtrack contributions, etc.) except for a cover of the Buggles song "Video Killed the Radio Star", which is a staple of Ben Folds Five's live show.

Album recording

The entire album was recorded in a house Ben Folds rented in Chapel Hill. Due to this fact, the album has several lo-fi occurrences. A phone ring can be heard at approximately 2:56 in "Steven's Last Night in Town;" Ben Folds has said the ring was a friend calling from Minnesota, but it came at such a perfect timing, the band decided to leave it in the song. Robert can be heard laughing slightly after it rings as well. Crickets can also be heard in the background of "Cigarette."

The track "Steven's Last Night in Town" was written about Ben Folds' friend Stephen Short, a Grammy-Award winning record producer and manager.^{[citation needed]}

The album's title comes from a line in the song "Battle of Who Could Care Less." Helped by a comedic video directed by Norwood Cheek, "Battle of Who Could Care Less" helped the band break through in the UK in early 1997.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ben Folds except where noted. 

Original release
No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces"		3:52
2.	"Fair"		5:55
3.	"Brick"	Folds, Darren Jessee	4:43
4.	"Song for the Dumped"	Folds, Jessee	3:52
5.	"Selfless, Cold, and Composed"		6:10
6.	"Kate"	Folds, Jessee, Anna Goodman	3:14
7.	"Smoke"		4:52
8.	"Cigarette"		1:38
9.	"Steven's Last Night in Town"		3:27
10.	"Battle of Who Could Care Less"		3:16
11.	"Missing the War"		4:19
12.	"Evaporated"		4:28

Bonus tracks on remastered version
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Video Killed the Radio Star" (cover of The Buggles)	3:40
14.	"For All the Pretty People"	3:21
15.	"Mitchell Lane"	3:40
16.	"Theme From "Dr. Pyser"" (Brendan O'Brien Studio version)	4:28
17.	"Air"	3:20
18.	"She Don't Use Jelly" (Lounge-A-Palooza version; cover of The Flaming Lips)	4:11
19.	"Song for the Dumped (Japanese version) (金返せ, Kane Kaese?)"	5:03

Personnel

The band

• Ben Folds - Piano, Lead vocals, Melodica
• Darren Jessee - drums, backing vocals
• Robert Sledge - Bass Guitar, Double Bass, Backing Vocals

Additional musicians

• John Catchings - Cello
• Alicia Svigals - Violin
• Matt Darriau - Clarinet
• Frank London - Trumpet
• Caleb Southern - Hammond organ
• Norwood Cheek - Synthesizer space sound

Production

• Caleb Southern - Producer, Engineer
• Ben Folds - Producer, Engineer
• Andy Wallace - Mixing
• Steve Sisco - Mixing Assistant
• Howie Weinberg - Mastering
• John Mark Painter - String arrangements
• Leigh Smiler - Cover Design
• Chris Stamey - Pro-Tools
• The Klezmatics - Special Contributor

Chart positions

Year	Country	Chart	Position	Weeks
1997	Japan	Oricon Weekly Albums Chart (top 100)	6	8
	United Kingdom	UK Albums Chart	30	3
	United States	Billboard 200	42
1998	Australia	ARIA Albums Chart (top 50)	9	32

Singles

Year	Single	Country	Provider	Chart	Position
1997	"Battle of Who Could Care Less"	United States	Billboard	Modern Rock Tracks	22
		United Kingdom	BPI	UK Singles Chart	26
	"Kate"				39
	"Brick"	United States	Billboard	Modern Rock Tracks	6
1998				Adult Top 40	11
				Top 40 Mainstream	17
		Australia	ARIA	ARIA Charts	13
	"Song for the Dumped"	United States	Billboard	Modern Rock Tracks	23

Track notes

The lyrics for "Cigarette" were inspired by a newspaper article about a man who sought a divorce from his wife after finding out she had a brain tumour, on the basis that she was not the same person he had married.^{[citation needed]} The "sequel" track, "Fred Jones Part Two", is on Folds' first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs.

The first track ("One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces") has been covered and recorded by singer-songwriter VanVelzen, and also by pop rock band De Poema's (in a translated version, with the title changed to "Groot en Belangrijk"; "Big and Important"), both Dutch acts.

Nick Hornby writes one of his essays in the book 31 Songs about "Smoke".

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r256553
2. ^ http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=119&name=Ben+Folds+Five
3. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15382-whatever-and-ever-amen
4. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/61892/albums/album/165699

See also

• 1997 in music