Students sing Ben Folds a cappella

Ben Folds, "Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!" (Epic)

First came the Ben Folds Five, which was really a trio, and now we have the Ben Folds Multitudes delivering the piano man's quirkiest album yet.

"University A Cappella!" makes glee club suddenly seem hip. Longtime campus favorite Folds combed through 250 video performances of his songs submitted by college a cappella groups, then traveled around the country to record his favorites.

It sounds as though everyone involved had a lot of fun. The creative arrangements showcase Folds' sense of humor and gift for melody in ways a rock album can't. In lieu of instruments, singers keep the beat with such phrases as "ba-da-ba-da," "noo-noo-noo-noo," "dig-a-duh-bump" and the like.

Fourteen groups contribute, including a marvelous coed high school ensemble from Newton, Mass., and Folds overdubs his own vocals on two of the best efforts, "Boxing" and "Effington." There's doo-wop, jazz, choral music and even frat rock that's R-rated. Kids will be kids.

Check this out: Starting low and hitting lots of highs, the group Voices In Your Head from the University of Chicago delivers a performance to match the song title on "Magic."