The Album Review Club - *** Christmas Break Playlist (next album 7/1/26) ***

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Yes fair point. I surprised myself giving it an 8 and here's my thought process.

I'd only heard the one song before and liked it without feeling I ever had to hear it again. When I heard the first three songs, I though, right, this is 5-6 territory - nice enough but, like you said nothing like the best in the genre.
But what followed really surprised me - one minute I think I'm listening to the American version of Busted and then they roll out these slower more interesting songs with some nice jangly guitars plus harmony vocals. So now I'm thinking, I might give this a 7.

But that was before the last few songs, and I think most of us agree it's like listening to an Oasis tribute band. But to be fair, those songs are as good as a lot of the Oasis songs. Just to be clear, I like Oasis' first two (I mean three - thanks to BH for making me listen to The Masterplan) albums, but they are no way near my top 20. Oasis would probably just about make my top 50 artists. But on this album, "Bought for a Song", "Supercollider" and "Elevator Up" had me wanting to listen to them again.

The fullness of time might show I've been a bit giddy giving Fountains of Wayne an 8, but it's an absolute rock-solid 7 at worst. The fact that I didn't expect to like it so much really helped, which is where the additional point came from. Despite the fact that I try not to, I can't help but have pre-conceived notions about whether I'm going to like or dislike every single album that is nominated on here. I liked the Micheal Stearns album a lot more than I thought I would but conversely, the Drive-By Truckers should be right up my street, but I found Southern Rock Opera was way too long and didn't have enough great songs - yet I rated both those two albums a 7.

Relative scoring is a difficult balance but I've played Welcome Interstate Managers through three times and listened to a few more a fourth and fifth time. If that's not worth an 8 then I don't know what is. I think this is an unbelievably good pop album without qualifying for a 9 or 10.

I think the problem is that hooks must mean the music is trite and unimportant to some people, and therefore deemed less worthy of enjoyment, whereas to me they are absolutely central to why I like most music. Whatever “genre” a hook comes from isn’t especially relevant to me personally. Now having said that — this record doesn’t have near the gravitas the records I like best do — which is why it’d never be a 10 and would crack my top 20 faves. I don’t exclude great pop or pigeonhole it — but records with something to say mean more to me.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Although I liked SOME of King Crimson (and Genesis), I enjoyed this Fountains of Wayne album a lot more.

Overall on a record by record basis it’s better IMO than any record either did (that I’ve heard, which is most of them by both) because both bands through all their many incarnations (which by the way should tell you something about the egos involved) always had at least one and usually more hookless clunker(s) per record.

However, taken across all their output, Genesis had more really great hooky songs than FOW in part due to longevity but also just because they’re all fine musicians who can write. KC did not, and their hooks were effectively confined to the Discipline/Beat/Three of a Perfect Pair period when — what a fucking shock — Adrian Belew (who knows how to write a hook periodically) joined the band.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

You make the point well. We are all subjective and different. For me to Score an album 8 it would have to compare favourably to ones I would place in my top 100 or so. This album, whilst pleasant, wouldn’t come close to that.

So to me THAT’S a very different reason than “it’s not as good as The Beach Boys.” It’s not good enough to have room in hall with the music I love isn’t genre specific at all.

 

[Saddleworth2]

So to me THAT’S a very different reason than “it’s not as good as The Beach Boys.” It’s not good enough to have room in hall with the music I love isn’t genre specific at all.

so thats my final test before I allocate a score. :-)

 

[Saddleworth2]

Overall on a record by record basis it’s better IMO than any record either did (that I’ve heard, which is most of them by both) because both bands through all their many incarnations (which by the way should tell you something about the egos involved) always had at least one and usually more hookless clunker(s) per record.

Genesis didn't have many 'incarnations'. Rutherford and Banks were a constant. Gabriel and Hackett left to further solo careers. Egos?
Trying to compare Fountains of Wayne albums with Genesis or King Crimson output? You might as well have a face off between Michael Bubble and Hendrix. ;-)

 

[journolud]

I get the Cars (although I'm not over familiar with them beyond the hits) and Oasis comparisons. Most albums on this thread are compared to someone or other by someone or other, I have a tendency to do that myself. But rather than being a valid exercise it seems to be a stick to beat the FOW with.

Having read about them before listening to them I wasn't sure how I should be approaching this album, should I be taking it seriously or is it a "novelty" item. I like pastiche and think the likes of Flight of the Conchords and Neil Innnes can be great fun but that sort of musical tribute only works so far as you like the style of music that is being affectionately paid tribute too. A more valid comparison for me is to 10cc, not in musical style but in the accuracy of their musical imitations and for producing music that stands alone on it's own merits. So, I've no idea if the first three tracks are meant to be a Busted tribute, I expect not but the Oasis tribute is more easily defined.

I initially if not dismissed then glossed over the first three songs as "lightweight" and I hold with this but they certainly aren't throwaway and bear repeated listens. As Rob and others have said the album takes a significant upturn after that and I think there are some great tracks in the mid section. I haven't caught all the lyrics but I think that they are very clever lyrically, capturing the mundane and the everyday in ways that Squeeze were masters of.

In the country song "Hung up on You" they have their very own Dreadlock Holiday (although guilty secret I like 10ccs stab at reggae) in that it's out of place, pretty divisive if this thread is anything to go by and, well unnecessary.

I'm not so sure about the Oasis stuff but then I'm not so sure about Oasis these days. I'm also not sure on balance about the singing voice overall but even so I found this album very listenable, I would probably explore more of their back catalogue and certain songs, Hackensack for example will make the long journey playlists.

It's not a masterpiece but it's pretty good. I'll give it a 7

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Genesis didn't have many 'incarnations'. Rutherford and Banks were a constant. Gabriel and Hackett left to further solo careers. Egos?
Trying to compare Fountains of Wayne albums with Genesis or King Crimson output? You might as well have a face off between Michael Bubble and Hendrix. ;-)

That’s fair on Genesis though titling a record “. . . And Then There Were Three . . .” would have annoyed me were I Hackett. But of course going shorter and poppy was a direct response to punk, and the band said they weren’t very good at creating short songs — which underscores the point @RobMCFC made about it not being easy. At least they recognized they were at risk of becoming dinosaurs.

I like Fripp for his unique sound and the chances he takes and I even still wear my Crafties t-shirt but he’s up his own ass and always has been. You know what the best thing he’s ever done is? Producing and playing as a session guy with The Roches. FOW created more music I enjoy than Crimson. They’re better songwriters. Are they better sound creators? No. But there’s a difference.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I get the Cars (although I'm not over familiar with them beyond the hits) and Oasis comparisons. Most albums on this thread are compared to someone or other by someone or other, I have a tendency to do that myself. But rather than being a valid exercise it seems to be a stick to beat the FOW with.

Having read about them before listening to them I wasn't sure how I should be approaching this album, should I be taking it seriously or is it a "novelty" item. I like pastiche and think the likes of Flight of the Conchords and Neil Innnes can be great fun but that sort of musical tribute only works so far as you like the style of music that is being affectionately paid tribute too. A more valid comparison for me is to 10cc, not in musical style but in the accuracy of their musical imitations and for producing music that stands alone on it's own merits. So, I've no idea if the first three tracks are meant to be a Busted tribute, I expect not but the Oasis tribute is more easily defined.

I initially if not dismissed then glossed over the first three songs as "lightweight" and I hold with this but they certainly aren't throwaway and bear repeated listens. As Rob and others have said the album takes a significant upturn after that and I think there are some great tracks in the mid section. I haven't caught all the lyrics but I think that they are very clever lyrically, capturing the mundane and the everyday in ways that Squeeze were masters of.

In the country song "Hung up on You" they have their very own Dreadlock Holiday (although guilty secret I like 10ccs stab at reggae) in that it's out of place, pretty divisive if this thread is anything to go by and, well unnecessary.

I'm not so sure about the Oasis stuff but then I'm not so sure about Oasis these days. I'm also not sure on balance about the singing voice overall but even so I found this album very listenable, I would probably explore more of their back catalogue and certain songs, Hackensack for example will make the long journey playlists.

It's not a masterpiece but it's pretty good. I'll give it a 7

10cc is quite a good comparison I think in terms of the ability to write very good pop music and skip between different pop styles. Prefab Sprout were also in my mind when I listened to this.

I find it impossible not to compare with bands you already have a terms of reference with.

 

[Saddleworth2]

That’s fair on Genesis though titling a record “. . . And Then There We’re Three . . .” would have annoyed me were I Hackett. But of course going shorter and poppy was a direct response to punk, and the band said they weren’t very good at creating short songs — which underscores the point @RobMCFC made about it not being easy. At least they recognized they were at risk of becoming dinosaurs.

I like Fripp for his unique sound and the chances he takes and I even still wear my Crafties t-shirt but he’s up his own ass and always has been. You know what the best thing he’s ever done is? Producing and playing as a session guy with The Roches.

Steve didn't seem particularly perturbed when we last spoke about it ;-)

 

[mancity1]

That’s fair on Genesis though titling a record “. . . And Then There Were Three . . .” would have annoyed me were I Hackett. But of course going shorter and poppy was a direct response to punk, and the band said they weren’t very good at creating short songs — which underscores the point @RobMCFC made about it not being easy. At least they recognized they were at risk of becoming dinosaurs.

I like Fripp for his unique sound and the chances he takes and I even still wear my Crafties t-shirt but he’s up his own ass and always has been. You know what the best thing he’s ever done is? Producing and playing as a session guy with The Roches. FOW created more music I enjoy than Crimson. They’re better songwriters. Are they better sound creators? No. But there’s a difference.

Even if you don't appreciate the sound creation and I actually do on this album , the song writing talent is undeniable and its the ability of the album to achieve its intention a lot of simple songs that you can easily learn to singalong to that is IMO is what is worth looking at.

It's not appropriate always to compare the sound and style to other bands you admire or not as the case may be.

if you just listen to the songs and musicianship its an enjoyable listen pure and simple.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Even if you don't appreciate the sound creation and I actually do on this album , the song writing talent is undeniable and its the ability of the album to achieve its intention a lot of simple songs that you can easily learn to singalong to that is IMO is what is worth looking at.

It's not appropriate always to compare the sound and style to other bands you admire or not as the case may be.

if you just listen to the songs and musicianship its an enjoyable listen pure and simple.

how do you score if you listen to it without reference to other music?

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Me too mate, I would still only score it 5 or 6 though. The problem is scoring. as soon as you try that you run into all sorts of conflicts.
my thought process kind of goes - what genre is this music fit best? - what groups typically Make music in this genre? - what music did those groups make and how does this compare? - what’s 10 in this genre? Where does this music compare? Allocate score.

I enjoyed the album, found it just as you said but in comparison with my impression of the best music in that genre written by say, Brian Wilson, Paddy McAloon or a raft of others, it’s a 5.
you may have an entirely different way of rating it and I’m sure it is just as valid. I was simply giving a counter view to the one Rob gave.

As long as we each treat each offering to the same consistent subjective barometer, does it really matter, what our individual barometer is.

It’s all subjective anyway and if you like it, a few bad peer reviews isn’t going to stop you liking it.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Was I being serious or ironic?

Bloody good for karaoke though.

Nothing against Meat Loaf, a nice guy, but I was never into any of his music either.
I can see the attraction in Bat Out Of Hell, just not my cup of tea.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Yes fair point. I surprised myself giving it an 8 and here's my thought process.

I'd only heard the one song before and liked it without feeling I ever had to hear it again. When I heard the first three songs, I though, right, this is 5-6 territory - nice enough but, like you said nothing like the best in the genre.
But what followed really surprised me - one minute I think I'm listening to the American version of Busted and then they roll out these slower more interesting songs with some nice jangly guitars plus harmony vocals. So now I'm thinking, I might give this a 7.

But that was before the last few songs, and I think most of us agree it's like listening to an Oasis tribute band. But to be fair, those songs are as good as a lot of the Oasis songs. Just to be clear, I like Oasis' first two (I mean three - thanks to BH for making me listen to The Masterplan) albums, but they are no way near my top 20. Oasis would probably just about make my top 50 artists. But on this album, "Bought for a Song", "Supercollider" and "Elevator Up" had me wanting to listen to them again.

The fullness of time might show I've been a bit giddy giving Fountains of Wayne an 8, but it's an absolute rock-solid 7 at worst. The fact that I didn't expect to like it so much really helped, which is where the additional point came from. Despite the fact that I try not to, I can't help but have pre-conceived notions about whether I'm going to like or dislike every single album that is nominated on here. I liked the Micheal Stearns album a lot more than I thought I would but conversely, the Drive-By Truckers should be right up my street, but I found Southern Rock Opera was way too long and didn't have enough great songs - yet I rated both those two albums a 7.

Relative scoring is a difficult balance but I've played Welcome Interstate Managers through three times and listened to a few more a fourth and fifth time. If that's not worth an 8 then I don't know what is. I think this is an unbelievably good pop album without qualifying for a 9 or 10.

I think the trouble with 8-9s is we have top of the leader board an absolute classic in Physical Graffiti.
I think most people since have tried to offer something maybe the board hasn’t heard, or at least very few would have.

I’m caught in two minds for my next choice whether to give you something Irish again that mightn’t score highly, but will undoubtedly be new to most, or to go back to my youth and pick out someone or something classic and established.

I mean I’d love to wow you all, but at the end of the day if one person likes what they hear it’s job done.

I’m leaning towards Foggy’s approach of staying local and giving us something new and personal. There’s something commendable about it and it gets us out of our comfort zone, whether we have to explain why we are marking it down or up.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Although I liked SOME of King Crimson (and Genesis), I enjoyed this Fountains of Wayne album a lot more.

I love KC but it’s not music I put on in company.
This is and that’s how I tried to judge it. I’d have no problems listening to this in the background with friends over.

 

[PragueBlue]

Had a couple more listens but both were a bit rushed to be honest. I don't really have time to write in more detail today but it did grow on me a bit and I found it quite listenable overall. There wasn't really a standout track for me that I would seek to add to a favourite playlist but a pretty solid all round album.

7 from me.

 

[RobMCFC]

Everybody's use of the 1-10 scoring system is interesting.

I've scored everything between 4 and 9, with most between 6 and 8, which isn't a very good use of the full scale I guess. To get a 10, somebody's going to have to nominate an album that's already in my top 20-25 albums. It's unlikely somebody will pull something out that I've never heard and I'll score it a 10.

My lowest score (4) was for the The Hangman's Daughter, which I found unlistenable for large portions.

However, I won't hesitate to use the 1-2-3 if somebody nominates some unlistenable shouty old rubbish (i.e. punk) or hip-hop/rap (although I will always give it a fair listen first).

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I think the trouble with 8-9s is we have top of the leader board an absolute classic in Physical Graffiti.
I think most people since have tried to offer something maybe the board hasn’t heard, or at least very few would have.

I’m caught in two minds for my next choice whether to give you something Irish again that mightn’t score highly, but will undoubtedly be new to most, or to go back to my youth and pick out someone or something classic and established.

I mean I’d love to wow you all, but at the end of the day if one person likes what they hear it’s job done.

I’m leaning towards Foggy’s approach of staying local and giving us something new and personal. There’s something commendable about it and it gets us out of our comfort zone, whether we have to explain why we are marking it down or up.

I rate this higher than PG because PG isn’t consistently good enough song to song. There’s some indifferent stuff on it. I think had they skinnied it down to the best stuff, PG would be a 9 for me for sure. On this FOW record I really like or love all but two songs which is saying something given its length, and even those are at least listenable. Consistency song to song is really big for me. The message/thematics, which neither record has compared to many of my personal top 20, is also important, but I’ll sacrifice that for great guitar hooks.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I think the trouble with 8-9s is we have top of the leader board an absolute classic in Physical Graffiti.
I think most people since have tried to offer something maybe the board hasn’t heard, or at least very few would have.

I’m caught in two minds for my next choice whether to give you something Irish again that mightn’t score highly, but will undoubtedly be new to most, or to go back to my youth and pick out someone or something classic and established.

I mean I’d love to wow you all, but at the end of the day if one person likes what they hear it’s job done.

I’m leaning towards Foggy’s approach of staying local and giving us something new and personal. There’s something commendable about it and it gets us out of our comfort zone, whether we have to explain why we are marking it down or up.

My approach is finding records I really like that the top 1,100 didn’t catch. I probably won’t go especially obscure — though there is one forgotten British band from the 80s who didn’t last long who turned out one whale of a record that I think should be rediscovered. I think I’ll stick with Yanks though :).

 

[OB1]

If it’s likeable, why shouldn’t it be an 8?

I’m enjoying these conversations because they underscore a theme I’ve brought up before in the prog discussions — good music doesn’t have to be important or complicated. In fact a lot of now-considered-great pop music isn’t either of those things. That’s what I think, at any rate.

I like this in part BECAUSE it’s uncomplicated, eminently listenable across nearly every song, cheerful and witty, and completely unconcerned with its own importance.

I'm sticking with a 7 but my cd of it arrived and got played a couple of times this weekend and will get more plays. It's a very enjoyable listen. Derivative of course but in a good way. I even heard , if I'm not mistaken, a bit of Ugly Kid Joe, although it might have been UKJ covering someone.