Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway

 

Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway

By

Jesse E. Mullen

Being a filmmaker is a lot like leading a band. You block out shots with precision. You direct your actors into position. And you coax the best performances you can out of them. Perhaps no musician understood this better than Adam Schlesinger.

The Fountains of Wayne bassist and main songwriter met singer Chris Collingwood at Williams College and quickly formed the group. They released an eponymous album of power pop in 1996. But it was his soundtrack work that brought him to a new level of fame.

Tom Hanks contacted Schlesinger to write the music for the 1996 cult film That Thing You Do! Having his name attached to an a-list actor meant that Schlesinger had doors opened to him that no one would’ve previously thought possible. He did soundtrack work for numerous film and tv productions.

All of which informed his writing when Fountains of Wayne returned to the studio to record Utopia Parkway. The sound was bigger, almost cinematic in scope. But the question still remained – could Schlesinger equal the impact of his soundtrack work, both critically and commercially?

The album opens with the title track. It’s mid-tempo piano rock until the chorus when the guitars crash in and the groove changes to a start-stop rhythm. Lyrically, the song describes the struggles of a budding band to adjust to life on the road.

It would be depressing if not for Collingwood’s upbeat delivery. Buying a cheap van, girlfriends who miss you on tour, not playing any original music. This band can’t catch a break. It recalls the story of That Thing You Do!, where a young band struggles to adjust to having a hit record.

“Red Dragon Tattoo” and “It Must Be Summer” are both catchy power pop in the vein of the debut album. Schlesinger’s melodic hooks never sounded better than within the context of Fountains of Wayne. As a tight band with chops and chemistry, they take his songs to another level.

“Denise” is a post-grunge styled track which evokes the sound of The Smashing Pumpkins. It tows the line between pastiche and parody but is an effective summation of the era. Schlesinger was smart to not take the idea too seriously and the song succeeds because of this.

“Prom Theme” might be the highlight of the album. Upon first glance of the title, one would assume the song would be uplifting. But there is a darker edge to the lyrics. Schlesinger’s narrator is already thinking about the future and not in an optimistic way. He discusses aging and completely forgetting about his date.

The lyrics in the chorus paint a desperate picture. He addresses his date and tries to live in the moment. He wants to make it a perfect night, knowing full well it can never be recreated. But the true genius of “Prom Theme” is that it’s not about a teenager on prom night. It’s a man in his 30s looking back on fading youth.

Musically, the track is piano-led baroque pop with strings and Burt Bacharach horns. Chris Collingwood’s vocals form an emotional center around the lush arrangement, and he brings an optimism to his performance not otherwise heard in the lyrics.

Schlesinger is again in slower territory on “A Fine Day For A Parade.” A minor key power ballad about a housewife drinking her days away, Schlesinger shows that not all is right in suburbia. The track also shows Schlesinger’s skills as a craftsman. It never becomes overwrought or bogged down by a sagging tempo – unlike many ballads of this era.

Alas, success was not to be with the album. When Utopia Parkway was released in April 1999, the reviews were mixed with Pitchfork calling the lyrics “banal” and the music a “mall-walking soundtrack.” The band was dropped by Atlantic later in the year.

However, success was still in their future. The long-awaited follow up, 2003’s Welcome Interstate Managers had their biggest hit in “Stacy’s Mom.” Fountains of Wayne disbanded in 2011, citing creative differences. And Schlesinger died of COVID-19 in April of 2020. He was 52.

But Fountains of Wayne will always be remembered as masters of power pop. Although they had their biggest success later on, it was Utopia Parkway that laid the groundwork for that album. Adam Schlesinger created beautiful work – That Thing You Do!, Ivy – but he may have peaked here.

Atlantic Records/1999

 

 

The Lemonheads - Car Button Cloth

 

The Lemonheads – Car Button Cloth

By

Jesse E. Mullen

You’ve formed a band straight out of high school. You’ve released a classic album of the early 90s. And then your critics say you’ve squandered away your talents.

So was the story of Evan Dando in the mid-90s. His band The Lemonheads released a cover to cover classic in It’s A Shame About Ray in 1992. He formed a powerful songwriting partnership with Tom Morgan of the Australian band Smudge. And then he threw it all away.

Or at least that’s what music journalists of the time wanted to believe. Sure, he had his very public struggles with addiction. And yes, he had some odd behavior in an Australian airport. But he also recorded a largely excellent follow up album in 1993’s Come On Feel The Lemonheads.

However, questions still remained in the public’s eyes. Could Dando keep delivering excellent albums under the circumstances? And how long could he handle the rock n roll lifestyle? In 1996, Evan Dando surprised everyone with a new Lemonheads album. Entitled Car Button Cloth, it was the most diverse disc Dando had recorded yet. But how did it stack up?

The album gets off to a fine start with “It’s All True.” The track features a stop-start rhythm unlike Dando’s typical up-tempo fair. He also sounds somewhat wearier on the track – his experiences of the past few years seem to have had a profound impact on him.

When the guitar break hits, it resembles J. Mascis. Fitting, as a member of Dinosaur Jr. is featured here. Patrick “Murph” Murphy was on loan to The Lemonheads after a grueling Lollapalooza tour prompted his exit from Dinosaur in 1993.

On “If I Could Talk I’d Tell You,” Murph starts off with the same tom rolls that he used on Dinosaur Jr.’s “Little Fury Things.” Musically, the song is upbeat jangle pop and the verses all substitute one word for non-sequiturs. But the title has a slightly darker connotation.

Dando seems to be referencing the real-life incident when he lost his voice smoking too much crack in 1993. Consequently, he had to give an interview to a member of the British press using a pen and paper for his responses.

“Break Me” is perhaps the track where the Dinosaur Jr. sound comes out the most. While the opening riff sounds much like The Lemonheads’ own “Rudderless,” and Dando sings more sweetly than J. Mascis, the guitars crunch and jangle much like they would on one of Mascis’ songs.

The mellotron and piano interlude before the final crescendo further solidifies the track as a sonic highlight. The way the song transitions from bright and cheery in the verses to dark and brooding in the choruses show Dando growing further as a lyricist and a composer.

Other songs allude to Dando’s state of mind at the time. Between the upbeat call-and-response verses of “Something’s Missing,” Dando muses on feelings of malaise. “Hospital” alludes to addicts dying before their time with its refrain of “green, green leaves falling off the trees.”

It’s “Losing Your Mind” however that best displays how Dando was feeling at the time. A slow, minor key rock song that alludes to early Black Sabbath, Dando describes a chilling comfort in going insane. The song is borderline progressive by Lemonheads standards, and shows Dando branching out into new territory.

Perhaps the cover of “Knoxville Girl” is the most interesting track on the album. A murder ballad from the 1930s, Dando rearranged it into a country/grunge hybrid. Playing in waltz time with a loud, ringing d-chord in the chorus, it’s safe to assume The Louvin Brothers couldn’t have imagined this when they originally recorded it.

But there was also one lost track from the sessions. “Purple Parallelogram” was a song Dando co-wrote with Noel Gallagher in 1994. Dando met the Oasis guitarist and songwriter on tour in the UK and quickly struck up a friendship. They wrote a few goofy songs on a portable tape recorder in a hotel room and went their separate ways.

When Dando was making Car Button Cloth sometime later, he dusted off the track and recorded it with the full band. However, Gallagher was not pleased that the novelty song they had written was being released and requested that the track be removed. Thus “Purple Parallelogram” is only available on advance promo copies of the album.

Sometimes the events of an artist’s personal life overshadow great work. Unfortunately, this was the case for The Lemonheads in the mid-90s. Despite attempts by critics to write him off, Evan Dando still had plenty to say. Car Button Cloth is Dando at his most adventurous, but also his most focused.

TAG/Atlantic Records/1996

 

Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain

 

Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

Scotland is a very green country. Look at any movie, play, or photograph set there, and you are bound to see a lush landscape. It is a symbol used by many artists – to contrast a bitter struggle with beautiful scenery.

Teenage Fanclub were just the latest to use that symbol. The cover to their 1997 album Songs From Northern Britain showed a dense green field in the Scottish countryside. But the music is just as evocative of that image.

As a band, Teenage Fanclub’s sound can be described as bright jangly guitars mixed with power pop overtones. The Bellshill quartet were primarily based around the songwriting of singer/guitarist Norman Blake, singer/bassist Gerard Love and singer/guitarist Raymond McGinley. Their harmonies were a hallmark of their sound until Love left in August 2018.

After releasing albums like 1991’s Bandwagonesque and 1995’s Grand Prix to rave reviews, fans had to be wondering – could they continue the hot streak? And how would their sound change?

As it turns out, the album was no big departure. But there were subtle changes. Blake kicks the album off in top form with “Start Again.” The track is much like other Teenage Fanclub openers – a strong melody line, an anthemic chorus – but with small differences.

They sound mellower and slightly slower here than on previous openers “The Concept” and “About You.” The song also uses a farfisa organ to great effect. It evokes British sounds of the past without sounding retro. A should’ve-been summertime hit.

“I Don’t Want Control of You” is another romantic Blake tune. But this one is almost antithetical to the typical relationship song. In the lyrics, Blake extols the virtues of healthy boundaries in a relationship. There is a sweetness in the music which matches perfectly with the lyrics – the three-way harmonies give the track a breezy, summery feel.

Gerard Love delivers two excellent tunes in “Ain’t That Enough” and “Take The Long Way Round.” Both are centered around relationships and enjoying the simple pleasures of summertime. “Ain’t That Enough” deals with basking in the sunshine with someone special, while “Take The Long Way Round” evokes images of a leisurely Sunday drive.

McGinley delivers a gem of his own near the end. “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From” manages to be both melancholy and sweet with minor key guitars and McGinley’s romantic croon.

Perhaps Blake’s “Winter” is the strongest track on the album. Breezy harmonies and major key guitars elevate the chorus to another level. The song is very reminiscent of ‘60s guitar pop, as well as the sounds Big Star channeled in the ‘70s.

The irony is that Blake writes the would-be feel good hit of the summer and titles it “Winter.” The cheery melody is contrasted with lyrics about the summer ending. This contrast of melancholy lyrics and a bright melody is well worn territory. But Blake makes it sound fresh here.

Because Teenage Fanclub is uniformly excellent, it is difficult to get a consensus on what their “best” album is. However, a strong case can be made for Songs From Northern Britain. It’s breezy sounds evoking the spring and summer days when Britpop ruled the charts, and festival bills were stacked with talent.

Creation/1997