Ben Folds Five

American singer, songwriter, and producer Ben Folds emerged in the mid-'90s as the leader of the power pop trio Ben Folds Five, before striking out on a successful solo career in 2001. His knack for crafting engaging melodies paired with lyrics that can go from heartbreakingly earnest to biting and sarcastic helped to fuel his slow dive into the mainstream, from piano-climbing college rock upstart to commercial crooner and likable (and knowledgeable) co-judge on NBC's hit a cappella singing competition series The Sing-Off. Since debuting in 1995 with the eponymous Ben Folds Five, Folds has released a string of acclaimed albums, including the platinum-selling Whatever and Ever Amen (1997), the chart-topping Songs for Silverman (2005) and Way to Normal (2008), and The Sound of the Life of the Mind (2012), the latter of which saw him reconvening Ben Folds Five and skillfully merging his snarky, punk-infused past with the more accessible, ballad-heavy output of his solo career. In addition to his own work, Folds has collaborated with a wide array of artists, including William Shatner, Sara Bareilles, and Regina Spektor, and authors Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman.

8 chamber rock songs with yMusic plus his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. In 2013, he composed "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" to critical acclaim. Since then, Ben has continued his global symphony performance quest, recently recording a new album that features the concerto along with a host of new songs that overlap pop and classical worlds with a fresh, exciting sound he has dubbed "chamber rock".

In 1997, PBS began airing Sessions at West 54th, a program far removed from the live music fare aimed at the older set that one usually finds on the network. Instead, Sessions at West 54th brought the hottest and hippest acts to New York to perform live in front of a studio audience. And one of the first acts asked to appear was Ben Folds Five. Which was a very big deal to the leader of the band. "I viewed it as an equal to a classic BBC live music television show," says Ben Folds. "I walked into it thinking, 'This is the one I leave [behind],' because it felt like some kind of a time capsule gig."

In 1997, PBS began airing Sessions at West 54th, a program far removed from the live music fare aimed at the older set that one usually finds on the network. Instead, Sessions at West 54th brought the hottest and hippest acts to New York to perform live in front of a studio audience. And one of the first acts asked to appear was Ben Folds Five. Which was a very big deal to the leader of the band. "I viewed it as an equal to a classic BBC live music television show," says Ben Folds. "I walked into it thinking, 'This is the one I leave [behind],' because it felt like some kind of a time capsule gig."

Naked Baby Photos is a compilation album comprising outtake material from recordings of Ben Folds Five's first two studio albums and live performances. Most of the tracks are previously unreleased rarities. Caroline Records' webpage for Naked Baby Photos features explanations of each track's origins from Ben Folds.

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third and final studio album released by Ben Folds Five before their break up in 2000. Folds’ unique and clever piano-based songwriting shines through on the album, with songs and arrangements that reflect his evolving artistic development. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, with its title humorously taken from the name used on drummer Darren Jessee’s former teenage fake ID, includes singles “Army” and “Don’t Change Your Plans,” and is regarded by the composer himself as the band's “best work.”

Sony's 2015 budget-line compilation Playlist balances rarities and hits. The rarities usually arrive in the form of live tracks and are often some of Ben Folds Five's biggest hits — "Underground" and "Battle of Who Could Care Less" are both here as live versions, not studio. There are also covers — "Video Killed the Radio Star," a live version of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" — along with the singles "Brick," "Song for the Dumped," and "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," helping this to turn into a nice sampler of the trio's range, humor, and talent.