CD Review: Fountains Of Wayne - Out-Of-State Plates

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Out-of-State Plates is aimed at diehard Fountains Of Wayne fans as opposed to those who only know the band from its “Stacey’s Mom” video. The two-disc set features non-album tracks from 1996 through 2005, as well as live performances, cover versions, and two brand new songs. The amount of material proves just how prolific vocalist-guitarist Chris Collingwood and vocalist-bassist Adam Schlesinger have become as a songwriting duo.

The CD’s only true misfire is “Half A Woman,” a monotonous tune about a magician’s assistant that strains to be clever. By contrast, the freshly recorded “Maureen” is a fun rock song about a frustrated guy’s ‘best friend’ who insists on providing detailed accounts of her affairs with other men. “The Girl I Can’t Forget,” the other new song, is equally catchy. The band performs faithful renditions of ELO’s “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” and Jackson Browne’s “These Days,” but has fun with Britney Spears’s “Baby One More Time.” Fountains Of Wayne’s authentic bluegrass take on the old standard “Today’s Teardrops” is another solid rarity on Out-Of-State Plates.

CD Review: Fountains Of Wayne - Sky Full Of Holes

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

By now, there’s not much doubt that a new Fountains Of Wayne CD will bring a fresh batch of guitar-driven, instantly memorable power pop tunes. It’s more of a matter of what tales vocalist-guitarist Chris Collingwood and bassist-vocalist Adam Schlesinger will spin, and who’ll fall victim to their satiric barbs. Sky Full Of Holes packs the duo’s usual biting humor although there are times when the formula seems a little strained.

On the mid-tempo “Richie And Ruben,” the misadventures of two inept entrepreneurs provides opportunities to poke fun at trendy night clubs and fashion stores, while the many off-kilter characters depicted in “The Summer Place” includes a woman with a life-long inclination to shoplift. “Workingman’s Hands,” a well-intentioned blue collar tribute, has the overly sweet scent of a Hallmark card, and it’s hard to care about the slug being helped in the slow-moving “Hate To See You Like This.” Fortunately, most of Sky Full Of Holes is devoted to energetic and clever fare like “A Dip In The Ocean” and “Radio Bar.”

CD Review: Fountains Of Wayne - Utopia Parkway

With the next Fountains Of Wayne CD, Sky Full Of Holes, due out on August 2nd, it might be a good time to look back at one of the band’s earlier releases. Here’s a review that originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer in 1999.

For Fountains Of Wayne, poking fun and having fun pretty much go hand-in-hand. The band’s songwriting duo of vocalist-guitarist Chris Collingwood and bassist-vocalist Adam Schlesinger are well known for coupling barbed social observations with bouncy pop melodies.They take a similar approach to Squeeze, but with unabashedly American references that conjure images of shopping malls and roadside diners.

The Squeeze comparison seems particularly apt for “Hat And Feet,” a playful blues shuffle built on the cartoon image of a guy flattened by his girlfriend’s cruelty. On the more energetic “Red Dragon Tattoo,” a young geek is “fit to be dyed,” hoping to impress a gal with his new body art. The rocking “Go, Hippie” lampoons an aging flower child and tosses in some Hendrix style jamming, while the more wistful “A Fine Day For A Parade” paints a sympathetic portrait of an elderly woman.

The irresistibly catchy “It Must Be Summer” contrasts a sunny arrangement with a frustrating situation where a guy pines for a woman who’s too busy out having fun to spend time with him. “Laser Show” hypes a trip to the Hayden Planetarium as if it were a major rock concert, while “Lost In Space” offers a character study of an attractive woman who may not be human. The disappointing title track, a generic take on the life of a struggling musician, is the only misfire on an otherwise witty and entertaining album.

That Was A Long Time Ago, Dearie - Fountains Of Wayne

I’ve lost track of how many CDs I now have by Fountains Of Wayne. Here’s a review I did for the Illinois Entertainer of their first effort.

Fountains Of Wayne songwriters Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger create a series of musical portraits on the band’s self-titled debut. Their unerring sense of melody is spiked with lyrics brimming with razor-sharp putdowns, brought to life through airtight harmony vocals and the musicians’ solid performances.

The songs range from the high energy of “Joe Rey” and “Radiation Vibe” to the shimmering ballad, “Everything’s Ruined.” Collingwood and Schlesinger often add a touch of humor, even on the bittersweet “She’s Got A Problem,” which depicts a close friend who’s her own worst enemy. “Sick Day,” an engaging slice of life about lonely office workers, gets a slower arrangement featuring some of the album’s best harmonies.

“Leave The Biker’ is a nice guy’s lament that ranks with Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him” as a masterpiece of malicious jealousy. In addition to lyrics like, “He’s got his arm around every man’s dream/And crumbs in his beard from the seafood special,” the song sports a perfectly executed Beatlesque coda.