Wiki
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Release Date
25 September 2008
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Length
12 tracks
Way to Normal is a 2008 studio album from Ben Folds. It was released on 30 September 2008 in the United States and on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album is Folds' highest-charting debut ever in the US, reaching #11 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release.
Way to Normal made a return to Folds' more tradional method of songwriting. The album is full of upbeat songs, injected with the humor that some fans felt Songs for Silverman completely lacked.
A music video for You Don't Know Me was directed by Eric Wareheim, featuring Eric himself and his comedy partner Tim Heidecker.
The metallic percussive effect on Free Coffee was achieved by placing Altoids tins on top of the piano strings; Folds demonstrated this in live performances of the song.
Fake leak
On 16 July 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Ben Folds's latest album on fan sites theSuburbs.org.uk and BenFolds.org. The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way to Normal and bizarre pastiches of foul-mouthed humor and melodramatic pop. Accordingly, the online forums became full of debate as to which were real - and which were fake - until the 12 August 2008 when Ben admitted on Triple J radio that many songs in the leak were fake. He claimed that he and the band recorded fake versions of songs from the new album when they "had a night to kill in Dublin", and had a friend leak it to the public "to give them something to listen to". After confirming that the leaked Brainwascht, The Frown Song and Free Coffee were fake, he stated that they will be used as b-sides and bonus tracks on upcoming releases. A few days later, in a Rolling Stone article Folds walked people through the differences between the real album cuts and the fake leak cuts.
Professional Reviews
★★★☆☆ - AllMusic
★★☆☆☆ - Rolling Stone
★★★☆☆ - Evade the Noise
★★★☆☆ - Daily Music Guide
Drowned in Sound - 8/10
Entertainment Weekly - B+
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