In 1909, at a bar in New Haven, Connecticut, collegiate a cappella was born. It was a seminal moment, to be sure. The Yale Whiffenpoofs (and their first alcohol-infused chords) kick-started a movement that over the next 100 years would come to include more than 1,200 undergraduate a cappella groups on campuses across the nation. Do not underestimate the genre. These vocal bands tour the country. They've performed on The Late Show With David Letterman, on Saturday Night Live, on The West Wing. They record albums (some costing upwards of $30,000 to produce ). And in unbelievably large numbers, they're covering the songs of Ben Folds.

"Music education has been atrophying," Ben Folds says. "And yet, at any given school, any number of a cappella groups are getting together a few times a week to rehearse and perform. What's more is they're really good." An idea was born. "If there are thousands of a cappella groups out there," Ben says, "it must be amazing to sing in them. I wanted to capture that magic." And so Ben Folds--one part Jane Goodall, two parts Ahmet Ertegun--set out to recruit and record these university a cappella groups. You hold the result in your hands.

Within days of the announcement, more than 250 student groups submitted their a cappella tracks over YouTube. Ben, touring at the time, would come off stage and spend hours pouring over these entries. "I couldn't listen to the tracks once," he says. "I'd take notes. I'd pick the arrangements apart."

Fifteen groups were selected for this project, from points as varied as the University of Rochester to Sacramento State. Ben, his wife Fleur, and his producer Joe Costa would pack up their equipment, and hop on planes, trains and automobiles to record these groups. Over two months, they set up camp in dorm lounges, lecture halls, campus television studios. They even recorded in a Synagogue. "This was not a novelty," Ben stresses. "I considered this my new record. And I wasn't fucking around."

The makeshift studio was simple: six area mics. "The groups needed to perform live," Ben says. "Right there. There were no isolated tracks. Everything was bleeding. Nothing was tuned. We just rocked out. I didn't want to jive around with their tracks."

It was a bold (not to mention thrilling) aesthetic choice for the project. In recent years, tools like AutoTune and overdub have become as prevalent in collegiate a cappella recording as on major label albums. But Ben Folds wanted to capture what these groups actually sounded like in performance. "I grew up listening to those old Nonesuch Records from the seventies," Ben explains. "Which were all about being there at the event. Those records are more of a time portal. Something we don't do much in modern recording is document an event and a moment. The last thing I wanted was to wring it out with computers." He likens the project to those old National Geographic field recordings. "Simple live recordings, documents of music being made in real time that capture the inimitable thumbprint of a culture as it is in motion. I love that shit."

The team allotted four hours for each session. Most groups nailed the recording in two. Was Ben surprised by what he found? "A little bit," he says. "The soloists were on every time. I'm used to working with professionals who don't get it right the first time."

Not to be outdone by the undergraduates, Ben Folds recorded two of his own a cappella tracks: instrument-free versions of "Effington" (from his 2008 album Way to Normal) and "Boxing," which originally appeared on the 1995 self-titled Ben Folds Five album. Which begs the question: How did it go? "It took fucking longer than four hours," he says. "I can tell you that much. I have a greater appreciation for the university groups."

This album, Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!, comes at an interesting time. Afterall, a cappella jokes have featured prominently on NBC's "The Office" and in big-budget movies like "The Break-Up," to name a few. On TV's "Scrubs," a cappella was lovingly described as, ahem, "ear rape."

Ben suggests the non-believers simply sit down and give the disc a spin. "I'm used to this," he says. "I've recorded with William Shatner. We couldn't get arrested with that album. But I knew when people heard it, they'd go, Oh... It's the same thing here. Once they listen to it, I won't have to say anything. The album will speak for itself."

For example, take a listen to "Landed," performed here by the University of Colorado Buffoons. When Ben recorded this song for his 2005 album Songs for Silverman, he says, "everyone felt like it was a hit. But there's something about my own voice which isn't necessarily what's going on these days. But the dude from Colorado? Now it sounds like a hit."

"I'm incredibly proud of this album," Ben says, summarizing the year-long, coast-to-coast endeavor. "If this were Ben World," he says, "this would be my greatest hits album. I'd rather this be my greatest hits record than someone collecting my masters and slapping on a photo of me leaning against a piano. This is a better way. I'm a songwriter, and these are my songs."

--MICKEY RAPKIN

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TOUR DATES
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Mar 13, 2010 - House of Blues - North Myrtle Beach, SC - get tickets
Mar 13, 2010 - House of Blues Myrtle Beach - Myrtle Beach, SC - get tickets
Mar 14, 2010 - The Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA - get tickets
Mar 16, 2010 - House of Blues Orlando - Orlando, FL - get tickets
Mar 17, 2010 - University of Florida Phillips Center - Gainesville, FL - get tickets
Mar 19, 2010 - The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC - get tickets
Mar 20, 2010 - Norva - Norfolk, VA - get tickets
Mar 21, 2010 - The National - Richmond, VA - get tickets
Mar 23, 2010 - Jefferson Theatre - Charlottesville, VA - get tickets
Mar 24, 2010 - RAMS HEAD LIVE - Baltimore, MD - get tickets
Mar 25, 2010 - Meymandi Concert Hall - Raleigh, NC - get tickets
Mar 26, 2010 - 9:30 CLUB - Washington, DC - get tickets
Apr 6, 2010 - House of Blues Boston - Boston, MA - get tickets
Apr 7, 2010 - The Klein - Bridgeport, CT - get tickets
Apr 9, 2010 - Wellmont Theatre - Montclair, NJ - get tickets
Apr 10, 2010 - The Hershey Theatre - Hershey, PA - get tickets
Apr 12, 2010 - Town Hall - New York, NY - get tickets
Apr 13, 2010 - Town Hall - New York, NY - get tickets
Apr 15, 2010 - House of Blues Cleveland - Cleveland, OH - get tickets
Apr 16, 2010 - Chaifetz Arena - Saint Louis, MO - get tickets
Apr 18, 2010 - University of Dayton - Dayton, OH - get tickets
Apr 19, 2010 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL - get tickets
Apr 20, 2010 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL - get tickets
Apr 21, 2010 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL - get tickets
Jul 24, 2010 - Churchill Downs - Louisville, KY - get tickets