''Songs for Silverman'' is the second solo studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

, released in April 2005 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The album reached No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it Folds' highest-charting album until the release of ''

Way to Normal ''Way to Normal'' is the third studio album by Ben Folds. It was released in Japan on September 17, 2008, in Australia on September 27, in UK and Europe on September 29, and in the US on September 30. The album is Folds' highest-charting solo albu ...

'' in 2008. The album is named after Ben Goldman, Folds' former A&R representative at

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. Folds explained, "I was always sending songs to him for the album, so I wanted to name it after him. But somebody (from Sony) found out and flipped out, so I changed it a bit and turned it in." Goldman's name also spawned the title of Folds' compilation album ''

Songs for Goldfish ''Songs for Goldfish'' is a Ben Folds album of live and unreleased tracks packaged with ''Songs for Silverman'' and released through Ben Folds' website. Tracks 1 through 8 are live performances, 9 and 10 are unreleased studio tracks. Recording de ...

''.

Singles

The first single, " Landed", reached No. 77 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 40 on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

. A planned

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

issue was cancelled, though the single received a digital-only release. The single "Jesusland" reached No. 2 on the UK airplay chart in October 2005. It has also been playlisted by

Xfm London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative rock, alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global Media & Entertainment, Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed Lon ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

(which lists it as "download only"). The track was slated for a UK single release in September 2005, but it never made it to store shelves. The video for the single features

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fly ...

as a

televangelist Televangelism (wikt:tele-, tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "Christian ministry, ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are minister ...

interspersed with scenes of a journey through what may well be "Jesusland" itself. The track was featured in the 2008 documentary ''

Religulous ''Religulous'' () is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words ''religious'' and ''ridiculous''. The documentary exami ...

''. The album's next UK single, "Late", was written as a tribute to the recently deceased singer-songwriter

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

Other songs

The song "Gracie" is written about Folds' daughter. Folds also wrote a song about his son Louis on ''

Rockin' the Suburbs ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' is the debut studio album by American alternative rock singer-songwriter Ben Folds. His first solo album after leaving his band Ben Folds Five, ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' was recorded in Adelaide, Australia, where Folds was ...

'', called "

Still Fighting It "Still Fighting It" is a song by Ben Folds released in 2002 as the second single from his 2001 album ''Rockin' the Suburbs''. The song is a bittersweet ode to the pain of adolescence dedicated to his son Louis. He would later write an accompanying ...

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

, who directed Folds' video for "

," contributes backing vocals to "Time".

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted. #"Bastard" – 5:23 #"You to Thank" – 3:36 #"Jesusland" – 4:30 #"Landed" – 4:28 #"Gracie" – 2:40 #"Trusted" – 4:08 #"Give Judy My Notice" – 3:37 #"Late" – 3:58 #"Sentimental Guy" – 3:03 #"Time" – 4:30 #"Prison Food" – 4:15 ;LP-only bonus track #

Bitches Ain't Shit "Bitches Ain't Shit" is the final song of Dr. Dre's debut solo rap album, ''The Chronic'',Thomas Golianopoulous"Dr. Dre, 'The Chronic' at 20: Classic track-by-track review" ''Billboard.com'', Prometheus Global Media, LLC, 15 Dec 2012. which was ...

" ( Delmar Arnaud, Calvin Broadus, Jr., Ricardo Brown, Tracy Curry, Colin Wolfe,

Andre Young Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

) – 3:54 ;Japan-only bonus track #

"Side of the Road" – 2:58 ;DVD-only bonus track #

"Landed" (Strings Version) – 4:46

DVD listing

*The Making of ''Songs for Silverman'' *Live performances *Interviews *Behind-the-scenes footage The DualDisc additionally contains the entire album in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

Personnel

The Band: *Ben Folds – piano, vocals *Jared Reynolds – bass, vocals *Lindsay Jamieson – drums, vocals Additional Musicians: *

Bucky Baxter William "Bucky" Baxter (1955May 25, 2020) was an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes and as a member of Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-90s during the Never Ending Tour. He released his only solo ...

– pedal steel (7, 11), 12-string guitar (7) *Frally Folds – backing vocals (7) *David Henry – cello (3, 5) *Ned Henry – violin (3) *John Mark Painter – double bass (5, 9), French horn (9) * Al Yankovic – backing vocals (10)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Songs For Silverman 2005 albums Ben Folds albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by John Mark Painter Albums produced by Ben Folds