Link:: Fountains Of Wayne
The Inside Pulse:
A superb collection of b-sides and rarities from one of the finest alt-pop groups in existence. If you only know them from the megahit “Stacy’s Mom”, then you’ve got a lot of catching up to do, and this is a great place to start.
Positives:
The band’s 1999 cover of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” is excellent. Much like Clem Snide did with “Beautiful,” Fountains Of Wayne transform a horrible pop-produced package into something resembling an actual good song. The backlog of songs here is amazing, especially for folks like me who clamor for more tracks on every Fountains Of Wayne record.
Negatives:
It’s tough to fault productions like this one, because they’re not really going for a cohesive record or one that has been overly produced. It’s your typical b-sides record, with cuts thrown together and tossed onto a disc. Basically, it’s not be best sounding record you’ll ever hear, but it doesn’t really need to be.
Cross-breed:
Weezer mixed with The Beatles.
Reason to buy:
If you enjoyed Stacy’s Mom (that sounds bad, I think) or anything ever released by Weezer, you’ll enjoy this disc. Fountains Of Wayne make great summer music, so pick this up as an end-of-season purchase and enjoy the ride.
