If you liked Ben Folds Five, then you'll love Ben Folds Live.

The man behind the piano wowed fans during his "Ben Folds and a Piano Tour 2002," and the new album, Ben Folds Live, is a compilation of the best performances from those shows.

Folds chose pieces from various phases of his career, including songs recorded with his former bandmates, Darren Jessee and Robert Sledge.

His live renditions make each tune sound fresh even if you've already heard the studio versions several hundreds of times. It's astonishing to hear the sounds Folds creates with just a piano and the roar of the crowd.

"Brick" and "Army" are even stronger live than in the studio. "Brick" sounds even sadder and more sincere, while fans' voices provide the trumpets and saxophones to fill in the harmonies in "Army," which makes the listener feel as though he or she is really at the show.

Along with live renditions of older tunes, there are also some great new additions. "Silver Street" is beautiful, with Folds' signature pensive lyrics and thoughtful piano work.

"One Down," which was actually written long before Folds was famous, is probably the best of the new songs. It is a hilarious tribute of sorts to a contract Folds had to write his way out of. He explained in concert that he owed the record company 4.6 songs and emphasizes in the song, "I've got one I finished yesterday, and I've got 3.6 to go."

He said, "People tell me, 'Ben, just make up junk and turn it in,' but I never was alright with turning in a bunch of [crap]. I don't like wasting time on music that won't make me proud, but now I've found a reason to sit right down and [crap] some out."

"One Down" and "Not the Same," which is a song that details the true story of Folds' friend who, as Folds says on the album, "climbed up a tree at a party on acid, and ... he came down from the tree, and he was a born-again Christian," add to the good mix of fun tunes. Meanwhile, other more solemn tunes like "Brick" and "Fred Jones Part 2" create an emotional link between the listener and the music.

The sound Folds gets from just his piano is surreal and the tunes are extremely diverse.

I was, however, slightly disappointed with the track list.

While it presents a great variety from the past seven years, there are many songs missing that would have made great additions. Folds could easily have turned this live album into a double by choosing more tracks from 1997's incredible Whatever and Ever Amen and 1999's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.

Also, he chose many tracks from the same performance (three from a Washington, D.C., show and four from the same New York City show), which is disappointing to fans who saw him during the tour and do not see a piece on the album from their particular show.

However, Ben Folds Live is still an exquisite compilation that displays Folds' immense talent as a solo artist and is a must for all fans.