Nacked photo in Rock & Pop Music

"Naked Baby Photos" (01/13/1998) Rock & Pop Folds, Ben, Caroline DistributionBen Folds Five: Ben Folds (vocals, piano); Robert Sledge (bass); Darren Jessee (drums). Producers include: Caleb Southern, Ben Folds. Engineers include: Scott MacLeod, Leo Overtoom. Includes liner notes by Ben Folds. Photographers: Ketheryn Kinslow; John Falls; Pat Pope; Alexandria Searls; Kevin Bishop; Ben Folds; Errol Kolosine. Unknown Contributor Role: Darren Jessee. As the title suggests, Naked Baby Photos opens the vaults to capture Ben Folds Five in their developmental stages, splitting its 16 tracks evenly between studio rarities and live performances; about half have never been available before in any recorded form. In addition to those previously unavailable tracks, Folds collectors will be enticed by the band's rare debut 7", "Jackson Cannery," and the original demo of "Bad Idea," which the band considers superior to the version released on the Truth About Cats & Dogs soundtrack. ~ Steve Huey This offering from the confusingly-named trio contains a handful of new songs, live versions of several songs from the group's last two albums and odds and ends like demo and 45 versions of other tunes. Whether you're already a fan or not, NAKED BABY PHOTOS provides a fine representation of the band's sound. Focused on singer-songwriter Folds's punchy, melodic pop, the trio's sound updates the tradition of '70s artists like Todd Rundgren with a punkier, more aggressive '90s style. As usual, the arrangements are dominated by Folds's hard-hitting piano work and Robert Sledge's muscular fuzz-bass riffs. Humor abounds here, especially on the rap parody "For Those Of Y'all Who Wear Fanny Packs," but the band's real strength lies in Folds's skilled pop songcraft.