An Entrancing Stroll In The Shoes of Christ
Ben Folds is one of those artists who's been quietly respected and revered by those in the know for years, but who would have predicted 'Little Britain's Matt Lucas would be one of those obsessive fans, and that he'd feature in the video for 'Jesusland'?
About as far from slapstick comedy as you can get, 'Jesusland' is a striking, melodic, mellow stroll through a worn out town, and in the shoes of Jesus Christ none the less. Piano-based artists are rarely making the conversion to chart acts these days, but Ben Folds slick chords and twinkling keys are so elegant and charismatic that you can't imagine the music working with any other instrumentation and it certainly charms. Sweet strings affirm the positivity of this sweeping song, while the vocals are warm and inviting, beckoning you to follow Ben as he winds his merry way through the carefully described landscape. Ben's voice is made of the stuff that evokes tears on film soundtracks and 'Jesusland' definitely has a panoramic quality to it.
Gentle, heartfelt, with an enticing blues-based piano part, 'Jesusland' is a stunning musical masterpiece, whether it is commercially attractive will of course be another matter altogether, but it's musically faultless and utterly enamoring.