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Lonely Avenue is musical nirvana for lovers of the deft balance of sassy snark and sincere sentiment.
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It adds up to Folds' finest record yet, and while nobody would dare suggest that Nick Hornby would give up his day job, a sequel to this fascinating collaboration would be more than welcome.
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Lonely Avenue definitively exfoliates its ersatz-'70s, one-off joint-effort stance; more than anything, it's proof that pop can push back against middle-class maturity woes with both rhetorical and diatonic thickness.
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This is an affecting and intelligent record: neither Folds nor Hornby should be shy about suggesting a sequel.
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More sweet than cynical on this outing, Folds and Hornby are perfectly complementary as a pair of smart-asses with sentimental sides.
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Lonely Avenue's two knights of music nerd-dom use their disarming pop smarts to wryly sympathize with the hapless Playgirl cover boy. The empathy and humor run throughout.
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It has to be said that, considering how Nick Hornby is credited with writing all of the lyrics here, the usual Ben Folds key words are present and there's only so much 'bastard', 'shit' and 'fucking' I can take. Despite this concern, as well as being Folds' most musically accomplished outing since going solo, it does feature the magnificent phrase, "some guy on the net thinks I suck and he should know; he's got his own blog."
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Lonely Avenue has to be considered a big success for both artists.
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Under The RadarOct 26, 2010While Lonely Avenue isn't a crowning glory for either, it is yet another inspired work to add to their collection. [Fall 2010, p.67]
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Q MagazineHornby and Folds would seem to be a good fit in the checkered history of author/musician collaborations. And so it proves, up to a point. [Oct 2010, p.107]
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MojoIntelligent, funny, heartbreaking atl-rock, Hornby lyrics music and vocals by Folds. [Oct. 2010, p. 92]
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Both artists are gifted social commentators with a love for snarky, collegiate cynicism that hides a huge sentimental streak.
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The pianist has a malleable voice, capable of swinging from poignance to sarcasm, though sometimes Hornby's dense wordplay can't help but sound awkward in making the transition from the page to the speakers.
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Formal knowledge works against them as they go from unfunny Randy Newman ("Levi Johnston's Blues") to too-cute Barry Manilow ("Belinda") to overdone Elvis Costello ("Password," about breaking into a girlfriend's e-mail).
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UncutCleverer and more talented people--say Clive James and Pete Atkin--have tried to make such collaborations work, and failed. Folds and Hornby join the line, a faint whiff of misogyny trailing behind them. [Oct 2010, p.97]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 9
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Mixed: 3 out of 9
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Negative: 0 out of 9
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Aug 15, 2012
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Oct 14, 2010
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Oct 6, 2010