| Fountains
of Wayne: 
Out-Of-State
Plates
(Virgin)
Before there was such a thing as Welcome Interstate Managers,
Fountains of Wayne’s finest moment occurred on a one-time
side gig, Adam Schlesinger’s wondrous title track for the
Tom Hanks directed dud That Thing You Do! In just a scant
few minutes, Schlesinger demonstrated his ability to recreate
flawlessly the buoyancy and optimism of ‘60s pop without
seeming cynical or arch—he shoulda won the Oscar for it.
With Managers, he and his Fountains partner Chris Collingwood
continued to work in different genres—a little country,
mostly rock and pop—but again with a craftsman’s purity
that never felt show-offy.
The success of Managers has allowed the band a higher
profile and an opportunity to release a two-disc B-side collection.
Out-Of-State Plates, which brings us much of the leftovers
from before “Stacy’s Mom” made them odd video
stars, reveals how fallible Fountains of Wayne could be; but with
that said, it’s also shockingly consistent.
You
know the drill: We’ve got demos, covers, live tracks, and
bonus songs from singles. What comes through clearest is Schlesinger
and Collingwood’s ability to write proficiently in both
ballad and rocker—“Kid Gloves” can make you
cry if you don’t watch it, while the new single “Maureen”
captures the joy kids find gathering in the world’s garages
to make loud music. And as a warning to you downloading junkies,
the album’s liner notes have great comments from our songwriting
heroes, which shed some light to every track here, complete with
punchlines.
www.fountainsofwayne.com
7 Blips out of 10
By
Tim Grierson
8/2005
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