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Retrospective announcement with track listing

 

Updated: See below.

The Best Imitation of Myself is the natural name for Ben’s latest project, a 3-disc set consisting of greatest hits, live tracks and rarities. It’s due to drop October 11, and the cover art and packaging is still being worked on (and you can help),  is shown at left, but the sequencing is done. It’s a treasure trove of all things Ben that every fan will want. The track listing:

Disc One – Greatest Hits

  • 01. Brick (Radio Mix) (with Ben Folds Five) – Taken from Brick single – 1998
  • 02. Annie Waits – Taken from Rockin The Suburbs – 2001
  • 03. Philosophy (with Ben Folds Five) – Taken from Ben Folds Five -1995
  • 04. Underground (with Ben Folds Five) – Taken from Ben Folds Five – 1995
  • 05. Landed (Strings Version) – Taken from Landed (Digital Single) 2005
  • 06. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces (with Ben Folds Five) – Taken from Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
  • 07. Don’t Change Your Plans (with Ben Folds Five) – Taken from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
  • 08. The Luckiest – Taken from Rockin’ The Suburbs – 2001
  • 09. Smoke (with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra) – Audio taken from Live in Perth – 2005
  • 10. Rockin’ the Suburbs – Taken from Rockin’ The Suburbs – 2001
  • 11. Kate (with Ben Folds Five)  – Taken from Whatever and Ever Amen -1997
  • 12. Gracie – Taken from Songs for Silverman -2005
  • 13. Still Fighting It (Extended Version) – Alternate Mix from Rockin’ The Suburbs -2001
  • 14. You Don’t Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor) – Taken from Way To Normal -2008
  • 15. There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You – Taken from Supersunnyspeedgraphic, The LP – 2006
  • 16. Still – Taken from Over The Hedge – Music From The Motion Picture – 2006
  • 17. From Above (with Nick Hornby) – Taken from Lonely Avenue – 2010
  • 18. House (with Ben Folds Five) – New Track – 2011

Disc Two – Live tracks, previously unreleased (except as noted)

  • 01. Julianne (with Ben Folds Five)
  • 02. Video (with Ben Folds Five) – Recorded at Studion in Stockholm, Sweden on March 12, 1997
  • 03. Song for The Dumped (with Ben Folds Five) – Recorded for Hard Rock Café Live television program on June 12, 1998. Originally released June 20, 2000 on album The Best of Hard Rock Café Live
  • 04. Missing the War (with Ben Folds Five)
  • 05. Mess (with Ben Folds Five)
  • 06. Magic (with Ben Folds Five) – Recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK on December 14, 1999
  • 07. Selfless, Cold and Composed – Recorded at Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY on December 9 2001
  • 08. Zak and Sara
  • 09. Girl – Recorded at Roseland Ballroom in New York, NY on June 13, 2002
  • 10. Just Pretend (with the Bens) – Recorded at Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia on March 24, 2003
  • 11. Fred Jones Part 2 (with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra) – Recorded at Kings Park in Perth, Australia on March 12 & 13 2005. Originally released December 6, 2005 on the Epic DVD Live in Perth
  • 12. Careless Whisper (featuring Rufus Wainwright) (Wham! cover) – Recorded at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA on August 24, 2005
  • 13. All U Can Eat – Recorded at Ben’s Studio in Nashville, TN on October 24, 2006. Originally released February 27, 2007 on the DVD Live at My Space
  • 14. Long Tall Texan (Jerry Woodard cover) – Recorded at the Warehouse in Houston, TX on October 24, 2008
  • 15. Army (with Ben Folds Five)
  • 16. Battle of Who Could Care Less (with Ben Folds Five) – Recorded at UNC Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill on September 18, 2008 for the MySpace Front to Back series
  • 17. Kylie from Connecticut – Recorded at the State Theatre, Detroit, Mich., on October 9, 2008. Originally released on April 7, 2009 on the iTunes release The Sound of Last Night … This Morning
  • 18. Effington – Recorded at Ax Hall, Seoul, South Korea on June 9, 2011
  • 19. Picture Window – Recorded at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London, UK on February 20, 2011
  • 20. Sentimental Guy – Recorded at Diamond Hall in Nagoya, Japan on June 7, 2011
  • 21. Not the Same – Recorded at A.E.C. Theatre in Adelaide, Australia on May 22, 2011

Disc Three – Rarities, 1991-2011 previously unreleased except as noted

  • 01. Unrelated – Unfinished Song Demo – 1996
  • 02. Best Imitation of Myself – Demo – 1991
  • 03. Rocky   – 4 Track Home Demo – 1993
  • 04. Boxing  – Demo – 1993
  • 05. Julianne (with Ben Folds Five) – Unreleased 1st Album – 1994
  • 06. Evaporated (with Ben Folds Five) – Unreleased 1st Album – 1994
  • 07. Alice Childress  – Originally released on Rare on Air 3: KCRW Performances – 1997
  • 08. Barrytown (with Ben Folds Five) (Steely Dan cover) – Originally released on Me, Myself and Irene Soundtrack – 2000
  • 09. Amelia Bright (with Ben Folds Five) – Mitch Easter Sessions – 2000
  • 10. Tell Me What I Did (with Ben Folds Five) – New Track -2011
  • 11. Rock Star – Demo – 2000
  • 12. Losing Lisa – Demo – 2000
  • 13. Break Up at Food Court  – Demo 2000
  • 14. Wandering – Demo – 2000
  • 15. Hiro’s Song – Demo – 2000
  • 16. The Secret Life of Morgan Davis – Alternate Mix – 2001
  • 17. Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover) – Alternate Mix from MySpace sessions – 2006
  • 18. Bitches Ain’t Shit (Dr. Dre cover) – Originally released as b-side of Landed 7″ vinyl single
  • 19. Time – Alternate Version – 2004
  • 20. Sleazy (Ke$ha cover) – Originally released on Download to Donate’s Tsunami Relief – 2011
  • 21. Because the Origami (with 8in8 – Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and Damian Kulash) – Originally released on Nighty Night – 2011
  • 22. Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues (with Ben Folds Five) – New Track – 2011

In addition to the tracks on the three discs, purchasers will receive access to the “Ben Folds 55” online vault, which will allow downloads of 5 more tracks not on the CDs. And for those who don’t care about the rareties and unreleased tracks, you’ll be able to buy the first disc by itself.

Update: Press release from Legacy Records; Article in Antimusic with more info.

One Comment

  1. […] (October 10) is the day that Ben’s retrospective compilation Best Imitation of Myself goes on sale in the United Kingdom, and tomorrow (October 11) in the US. If you’ve picked up […]