Adam Schlesinger passed away on Wednesday at the age of 52, one of the music world's first losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. He wrote a lot of music for a lot of different things -- just last week on this site I called Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which he co-wrote and produced over 150 songs for, "a herculean achievement in both TV production and songwriting." But he's most associated with the 5 albums he made with Fountains Of Wayne, playing bass and writing songs with Chris Collingwood, so I wanted to take a look back at that catalog.

Fountains Of Wayne deep album cuts (Spotify playlist):

1. Bright Future In Sales
2. Please Don't Rock Me Tonight
3. Utopia Parkway
4. Hackensack
5. Yolanda Hayes
6. Leave The Biker
7. A Dip In The Ocean
8. Lost In Space
9. Halley's Waitress
10. I've Got A Flair
11. California Sex Lawyer
12. Hat And Feet
13. Traffic And Weather
14. Valley Winter Song
15. Joe Rey
16. Cold Comfort Flowers
17. Laser Show
18. Yours And Mine
19. I-95
20. These Days
21. You Curse At Girls
22. Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim
23. A Road Song
24. Imperia
25. It Must Be Summer
26. All Kinds Of Time

Tracks 2, 6, 10, 15 and 21 from Fountains Of Wayne (1996)
Tracks 3, 8, 12, 17 and 25 from the Utopia Parkway (1999)
Tracks 1, 4, 9, 14, 18 and 26 from Welcome Interstate Managers (2003)
Tracks 11, 20 and 24 from Out-of-State Plates (2005)
Tracks 5, 13, 19 and 22 from Traffic And Weather (2007)
Tracks 7, 16 and 23 from Sky Full Of Holes (2011)

I have fond memories of "Radiation Vibe" sounding damn good on the little alarm clock radio in my bedroom when I was 14, and the follow-up single "Sink To The Bottom" didn't do as well but was possibly even catchier (although there seems to be a tortoise-and-hare dynamic there, as "Sink" is more popular on streaming services a couple decades later). But back when I had to ration out what little money I got in my hands that was invariably spent on $13 CD's, I never did buy a Fountains Of Wayne album, although my cousin Matthew was a fan (if I recall, his favorite was "Leave The Biker").

In retrospect I probably should have been playing Fountains Of Wayne albums throughout high school, given how close they are to a lot of music I loved at the time. They shared a drummer, Brian Young, with The Posies, and a lot of FOW stuff reminds me vocally, lyrically, and musically of Chris Murphy-sung Sloan songs. But for whatever reason, Fountains Of Wayne was a band that a lot of people I knew loved but I didn't get around to listening beyond the singles for a long time.

Adam Schlesinger kind of arrived as a major songwriting talent all at once when Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy released their debut albums in the space of a year that also included the title song for That Thing You Do! that he penned (incidentally I'm listening to Ivy's Apartment Life right now and really digging it). I think that movie has aged really well as one of the best fictional films about pop music (and better and more true to life than a lot of biopics), and it absolutely wouldn't work if the music and the central song wasn't so spot-on. A lot of power pop bands of Fountains Of Wayne's generation wrote songs that sound like '60s chart hits but toil in obscurity. But in addition to "That Thing You Do!" becoming a hit in real life, FOW sort of got to be a one hit wonder twice -- for years "Radiation Vibe" was their only song on the alternative charts, and then "Stacy's Mom" was their only Hot 100 hit. Except they weren't a one hit wonder at all -- they got a lot of critical acclaim and performed for many years to a loyal fanbase that knew every song.

"Hackensack" has kind of emerged as the classic Fountains Of Wayne deep cut -- oddly, Katy Perry also covered it on MTV Unplugged. But a lot of these songs just bowled me over with their wit and creativity -- "Halley's Waitress," that's just a brilliant lyric, as an amateur songwriter I just feel envy when I hear an idea that good. And I love the way "I-95" gives all these observational details about the interstate a classic rock grandeur. So I've really enjoyed digging into their 5 proper albums as well as the double disc rarities compilation Out-Of-State Plates, which includes a lovely cover of "These Days," one of the best songs by another master songwriter who's been in my thoughts lately after he tested positive for COVID-19, Jackson Browne. I was also struck by a brief, poignant song about mourning, "Imperia," that was the B-side to the band's debut single, "Radiation Vibe."

Previous playlists in the Deep Album Cuts series:
Vol. 1: Brandy
Vol. 2: Whitney Houston
Vol. 3: Madonna
Vol. 4: My Chemical Romance
Vol. 5: Brad Paisley
Vol. 6: George Jones
Vol. 7: The Doors
Vol. 8: Jay-Z
Vol. 9: Robin Thicke
Vol. 10: R. Kelly
Vol. 11: Fall Out Boy
Vol. 12: TLC
Vol. 13: Pink
Vol. 14: Queen
Vol. 15: Steely Dan
Vol. 16: Trick Daddy
Vol. 17: Paramore
Vol. 18: Elton John
Vol. 19: Missy Elliott
Vol. 20: Mariah Carey
Vol. 21: The Pretenders
Vol. 22: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Vol. 23: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Vol. 24: Foo Fighters
Vol. 25: Counting Crows
Vol. 26: T.I.
Vol. 27: Jackson Browne
Vol. 28: Usher
Vol. 29: Mary J. Blige
Vol. 30: The Black Crowes
Vol. 31: Ne-Yo
Vol. 32: Blink-182
Vol. 33: One Direction
Vol. 34: Kelly Clarkson
Vol. 35: The B-52's
Vol. 36: Ludacris
Vol. 37: They Might Be Giants
Vol. 38: T-Pain
Vol. 39: Snoop Dogg
Vol. 40: Ciara
Vol. 41: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Vol. 42: Dwight Yoakam
Vol. 43: Demi Lovato
Vol. 44: Prince
Vol. 45: Duran Duran
Vol. 46: Rihanna
Vol. 47: Janet Jackson
Vol. 48: Sara Bareilles
Vol. 49: Motley Crue
Vol. 50: The Who
Vol. 51: Coldplay
Vol. 52: Alicia Keys
Vol. 53: Stone Temple Pilots
Vol. 54: David Bowie
Vol. 55: The Eagles
Vol. 56: The Beatles
Vol. 57: Beyonce
Vol. 58: Beanie Sigel
Vol. 59: A Tribe Called Quest
Vol. 60: Cheap Trick
Vol. 61: Guns N' Roses
Vol. 62: The Posies
Vol. 63: The Time
Vol. 64: Gucci Mane
Vol. 65: Violent Femmes
Vol. 66: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Vol. 67: Maxwell
Vol. 68: Parliament-Funkadelic
Vol. 69: Chevelle
Vol. 70: Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
Vol. 71: Fantasia
Vol. 72: Heart
Vol. 73: Pitbull
Vol. 74: Nas
Vol. 75: Monica
Vol. 76: The Cars
Vol. 77: 112
Vol. 78: 2Pac
Vol. 79: Nelly
Vol. 80: Meat Loaf
Vol. 81: AC/DC
Vol. 82: Bruce Springsteen
Vol. 83: Pearl Jam
Vol. 84: Green Day
Vol. 85: George Michael and Wham!
Vol. 86: New Edition
Vol. 87: Chuck Berry
Vol. 88: Electric Light Orchestra
Vol. 89: Chic
Vol. 90: Journey
Vol. 91: Yes
Vol. 92: Soundgarden
Vol. 93: The Allman Brothers Band
Vol. 94: Mobb Deep
Vol. 95: Linkin Park
Vol. 96: Shania Twain
Vol. 97: Squeeze
Vol. 98: Taylor Swift
Vol. 99: INXS
Vol. 100: Stevie Wonder
Vol. 101: The Cranberries
Vol. 102: Def Leppard
Vol. 103: Bon Jovi
Vol. 104: Dire Straits
Vol. 105: The Police
Vol. 106: Sloan
Vol. 107: Peter Gabriel
Vol. 108: Led Zeppelin
Vol. 109: Dave Matthews Band
Vol. 110: Nine Inch Nails
Vol. 111: Talking Heads
Vol. 112: Smashing Pumpkins
Vol. 113: System Of A Down
Vol. 114: Aretha Franklin
Vol. 115: Michael Jackson
Vol. 116: Alice In Chains
Vol. 117: Paul Simon
Vol. 118: Lil Wayne
Vol. 119: Nirvana
Vol. 120: Kix
Vol. 121: Phil Collins
Vol. 122: Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Vol. 123: Sonic Youth
Vol. 124: Bob Seger
Vol. 125: Radiohead
Vol. 126: Eric Church
Vol. 127: Neil Young
Vol. 128: Future
Vol. 129: Say Anything
Vol. 130: Maroon 5
Vol. 131: Kiss
Vol. 132: Dinosaur Jr.
Vol. 133: Stevie Nicks
Vol. 134: Talk Talk
Vol. 135: Ariana Grande
Vol. 136: Roxy Music
Vol. 137: The Cure
Vol. 138: 2 Chainz
Vol. 139: Kelis
Vol. 140: Ben Folds Five
Vol. 141: DJ Khaled
Vol. 142: Little Feat
Vol. 143: Brendan Benson
Vol. 144: Chance The Rapper
Vol. 145: Miguel
Vol. 146: The Geto Boys
Vol. 147: Meek Mill
Vol. 148: Tool
Vol. 149: Jeezy
Vol. 150: Lady Gaga
Vol. 151: Eddie Money
Vol. 152: LL Cool J
Vol. 153: Cream
Vol. 154: Pavement
Vol. 155: Miranda Lambert
Vol. 156: Gang Starr
Vol. 157: Little Big Town
Vol. 158: Thin Lizzy
Vol. 159: Pat Benatar
Vol. 160: Depeche Mode
Vol. 161: Rush
Vol. 162: Three 6 Mafia
Vol. 163: Jennifer Lopez
Vol. 164: Rage Against The Machine
Vol. 165: Huey Lewis and the News
Vol. 166: Dru Hill
Vol. 167: The Strokes
Vol. 168: The Notorious B.I.G.
Vol. 169: Sparklehorse
Vol. 170: Kendrick Lamar
Vol. 171: Mazzy Star
Vol. 172: Erykah Badu
Vol. 173: The Smiths
Vol. 174: Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 04, 2020 at 10:10 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.