Right out of the gate it must be said that there is absolutely nothing necessary about Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella. Then again, I highly doubt that relevance was the intention here. It's a plain and simple vanity project, but one that has enough curious moments to justify its existence. The real accomplishment here is that UAC isn't just an album for Ben Folds completists, or just a complete throwaway for that matter.

Spanning hits from Folds's career with both The Ben Folds Five and his solo work, UAC utilizes the many capable pipes present in singing groups from colleges around America to give the all-vocal treatment to some old and not-so-old favorites. In two instances Ben joins the kids for recordings in his own studio, which seems like it's kind of missing the point, but whatever. It's Ben's project.

All of the tracks on UAC fit into one of three categories: Songs made worse by the process, songs somehow improved by it, and songs that are a complete wash either way. There are really only a couple standout tracks on the entire disc, but also only a couple actively offensive ones. So here's how it breaks down.

It opens strongly, or at least prettily, with "Not The Same" care of the Greensboro Spartones. I wouldn't use it to sell the album, but it's decent enough. Next up is UNC's Loreleis doing a rendition of "Jesusland" off of the amazing Songs For Silverman. It's here that the lack of piano first leaves a hole that can't be filled by clever vocal arrangements. The greatness of that song, probably the best track from its original album, is the driving certainty of the piano combined with the lonely sincerity of Folds's voice. Changing it into a jumpy a cappella track just sucks the life right out of it, however talented the Loreleis are.

All that said, "Jesusland" doesn't really sound wrong, per se. That dubious honor goes to OU's Leading Tones giving an unnecessary R&B twist to "Brick". That most intimate and heartbreaking song of Folds's career doesn't need to be anywhere on the same continent as warmth and excitement. Of all the tracks on UAC, this is the one that comes closest to outright parody.

The first of two Folds-helmed recordings on the album, "Boxing" isn't as good as the original, but it suffices as an interesting coda. Nothing more, nothing less. On the other end of the spectrum, Sacramento State's Jazz Singers do an excellent rendition of "Selfless, Cold and Composed". That was always one of Folds's most jazz-centric tracks, so it benefits from the soulful jump-and-scat.

The real gem of this album comes smack-dab in the middle. University of Chicago's Voices In Your Head actually manage to improve greatly upon the chilly tearjerker "Magic". The potential of UAC was always in exploring what the songs of Ben Folds would sound like given a more powerful set of vocal cords. Folds is a decent enough singer, but his limitations are obvious on tracks like "Magic" that really demand sweeping prettiness. This rendition gives it the full-on church treatment to maximum effect.

The other real stand-out track of UAC is the second Ben Folds fronted song, "Effington". Everyone seems to be having so much fun, which is good considering how funny a song it is. The best part, though, is how well this version of "Effington" demonstrates Folds's talents as a composer. We as listeners tend to focus more on voices than on instruments, so an all-vocal version of the song does a great job of highlighting all the individual parts of the whole.

West Chester's Grace Notes do an admirable job with "Fred Jones Part 2" and U of Rochester handles "Army" well enough in the album's third act. I found University of Wisconsin Eau Claire's Fifth Element's version of "Fair" to be just disappointing. The great part of that odd track is how enthusiastic it is in its original form. This rendition seems a little lifeless by comparison. The album closes with the Washington University in St. Louis Amateur's take on "The Luckiest". It's fuller, in a sense, than the original, but no better or worse.

Ultimately, I'd say that Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella was a somewhat interesting experiment that paid dividends in at least one case, even if it meant slogging through a lot of not-so-stunning material to get there. Folds fans will likely be more turned off by flat takes on beloved originals and tonal missteps, but it's still worth a good, modern-day iTunes deconstruction.