{|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... Read more

{|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 Less