Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers

After a four-year hiatus notable for some film and television soundtrack work, a lapsed contract, and a relaxed songwriting schedule Fountains of Wayne return with their third and best CD to date. The New York-based power-pop quartet delivers a diverse feast of infectious melodies and endlessly clever lyrics. Songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood still slide on a sweet scale between the Beatles and the Monkees, but they've branched out from '60s sounds to include bona fide alt rock ("Little Red Light," "Bought for a Song"), orchestrated pop ("Halley's Waitress"), a country lark worthy of Dwight Yoakam ("Hung Up On You"), and hints of psychedelia ("Supercollider"). The Cars-flavored "Bright Future in Sales" and "Stacy's Mom" warrant heavy-rotation airplay. Following their acclaimed eponymous debut and the vastly underrated Utopia Parkway, Welcome Interstate Managers leaves no doubt that Fountains of Wayne are gaining strength. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

"He was killed in a cellular phone explosion"

When I heard these words, the first of the first song, I was completely hooked.

It's a great album, full of 1960's-sounding music, but with themes from the 1990's and 2000's. Every song's a winner, with lyrics that stick in your mind. June 21, 2007

awesome.

i love this cd. fountains of wayne are more versatile than you'd imagine -- they span everything from country-like rock to punk rock to acoustic. and the lyrics are beautiful, as well. go fountains of wayne! May 13, 2007

A little uneven, but there's still some great songs to be found.

WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS opens with a series of clever rhymes (or near rhymes as the acceptable equivalent) in the song "Mexican Wine" a bit of nonsense that sets the tone for this one. From the slacker salesman in "Bright Future in Sales" (Really reminds me of some old Nick Lowe) to the hopeless dreamer trapped in "Hackensack," there are a lot of great characters here. This one even has a hit for a band that deserves it in the form of "Stacy's Mom," a quirky look at teenage lust. But sometimes the songs land flat, like on Halley's Waitress" that stretches the metaphor way too far, "Hung Up On You" with it's forced twang, or "Peace and Love" that could be taken with tongue in cheek or not; it's just too earnest to convince. Then you hear something like "Valley Winter Song" or "Hey Julie" and all is forgiven. This is a band that's just hard not to like.
February 19, 2007

Fantastic album

I was not too impressed on my first listen, but by listen #3 was hooked. The more I've listened to this album, the better it sounds. I initially thought the latter half of the album would have been better left off, but how wrong I was. Even the country song (#11) has a strong pop melody to it, and I am definitely NOT a fan of country music in general. The only songs I'm not crazy about are Fire Island and Peace and Love (#s 12 and 13). All the songs (even those 2) will stick in your head -- Fountains of Wayne are definitely experts at crafting a good pop song. There are so many great songs on here that it's hard to pick favorites, but Mexican Wine, Hackensack, Valley Winter Song, and Supercollider (#s 1,4,6,& 15) are definitely on my favorite list, as is Stacy's Mom. I am a 49-year-old woman and had some reservations about the lyrics of the latter song (it doesn't seem like something a grown woman should be listening to or singing!), but the music is so nearly perfect that I purchased it despite those reservations, and I'm very glad I did. This album is probably the best music purchase I've made in years and is sure to be enjoyed by Baby Boomers who miss the good pop songs of the 60s, 70s and 80s. December 20, 2006

Their best to date!

This is so far the best CD from Fountains of Wayne. It's filled with so many strongs songs. Some of my favorites include "Bright future in sales" and "Hey Julie". One of my all-time favorite lyrics is from the song "No Better Place":

"And the bourbon sits inside me
Right now I'm a puppet in its sway
And it may be the whiskey talking
But the whiskey says I miss you every day"

I had the pleasure of seeing FOW and a small club in Atlanta, Ga called Smith's Ole Bar. I was tickled that with all the volume coming from that stage, the vocal performance was very "subdued" and it occured to me that the true star on that stage was the lyrics of each song. October 16, 2006

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