Nonesuch

Nick Cave once said, “It was outrageous to think that a rock star could ever write a novel.” But could the same be said of a novelist trying to be a rock star? Acclaimed British novelist Nick Hornby has proven his scholarly, encyclopedic love of music in prose via such bestsellers as High Fidelity and Songbook. But as a lyricist, he leaves much to be desired. The combination of Hornby’s word-stuffed sonic vignettes and Ben Folds’ never-better production and songwriting chops that make up their collaborative debut work wonderfully together on certain selections, namely the Todd Rundgren-esque rocker “Your Dogs” and the lush, gorgeous “Belinda” (featuring the work of legendary string arranger Paul Buckmaster ). Sadly, such triumphs are obscured by questionable material like “Levi Johnston’s Blues,” a precocious socio-political ditty already as dated as “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”