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