All The Pain Money Can Buy

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:42:06
Fastball: Miles Zuniga (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Tony Scalzo (vocals, bass, keyboards); Joey Schuffield (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Poe (vocals); Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello); Doug Norwine (tenor saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Dennis Farias, Rick Braun (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Walt Vincent (piano); Bennett Salvay (electric piano); Kim Bullard (organ, keyboards, programming); Guy Fantasy (background vocals). Recorded at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California. "The Way" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocal. Personnel: Miles Zuniga (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Tony Scalzo (vocals, keyboards); Poe (vocals); Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello); Doug Norwine (tenor saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Rick Braun, Dennis Farias (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Bennett Salvay (piano, electric piano, organ); Walt Vincent (piano); Kim Bullard (organ, keyboards, programming); Joey Shuffield (drums, percussion); Guy Fantasy (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Chris Lord-Alge. Recording information: A & M Studios, Hollywood, CA. Illustrator: Petronio Ortiz. Photographer: Howard Rosenberg. Fastball's charms came into sharp focus on All the Pain Money Can Buy. Stripping away the grungy guitars that defined 1996's Make Your Mama Proud, Fastball decide to indulge in a power pop fantasia, snatching elements from the British Invasion, '70s AM pop, psychedelia, new wave, power pop, and adult alternative rock. Co-producer Julian Raymond certainly assisted in this shift, but it's also evident that songwriters Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga -- the pair never wrote together, choosing to alternate songs instead -- decided to stretch their muscles, writing a few songs in distinct styles ("G.O.D. [Good Old Days]" is a horn-driven piece of bubblegum that evokes "Build Me Up Buttercup"), but also choosing to blend their influences. Notable among the latter is Scalzo's "The Way," a simmering, cinematic pop gem that climbed its way to number five on Billboard's Hot 100. Its success pigeonholed Fastball as a one-hit wonder, a designation that was neither true -- Scalzo's easy-rolling "Out of My Head" went to number 20 on its way to being an adult album alternative staple -- nor fair. Perhaps All the Pain Money Can Buy carries some trappings of the post-grunge salad days of the early '90s -- certainly, its very title suggests it's a collection of angst -- but at its core, it's a colorful, catchy collection of tunes rooted in classic pop. Zuniga's "Fire Escape" is driven by hooks that chime like the Byrds, while his "Sooner or Later" punches like prime Elvis Costello, sounds that find a contemporary balance with his lite-soul duet with Poe ("Which Way to the Top?") and Scalzo's hits. Removed from the post-grunge era, what's striking about All the Pain Money Can Buy is that fine, sturdy craft, which is evident both in the songs and production. No longer seeming like part of the Zeitgeist, the album appears to be part of a long, proud tradition of tuneful guitar pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
録音 : ステレオ (Studio)