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Rating: Many semi-unknown musicians have managed to pull a memorable hit out of the hat only to immediately return to anonymity: it’s known that the laws governing the hit-parades are sometimes bizarre, and the goddess of fortune is notoriously blind; however, sometimes these chart meteors are people who have what it takes to aim for success on a much larger scale than that one-off hit wonder, for example, Fastball: quite a few people remember them for "The Way" from 1998, an extremely catchy melody, an incisive and melodic voice just right, a rich and pleasant guitar-oriented pop rock sound, and lyrics that are anything but stupid and banal; considering that, as evidenced by this "Painting The Corners: The Best Of Fastball" from 2002 "The Way" is by no means an isolated case, how is it possible that a power-trio of such talent is not listed among the stars of contemporary rock? The answer is encapsulated in 3 damn letters: MTV; yeah, the malevolent entity that during that period made "artists" like Green Day and Blink 182 successful among teenagers and shortly contributed to the rise of Coldplay to the title of absolute emperors of sleek world rock had no interest in supporting this unnamed Texan trio with a not-so-cool look, whose singer continued to work in an Austin cemetery until the release of the second album?
Perfectly summarizing their characteristic sound, this best of 2002 includes songs from Fastball’s first three albums: "Make Your Mama Proud" from '96, "All The Pain Money Can Buy" from '98, and "The Harsh Light Of Day" from 2000: the trademark of the trio led by singer, bassist, and keyboardist Tony Scalzo is simple and highly effective power-pop, declined in various forms, from quick punk-edge shards like "Make Your Mama Proud", "Human Torch", and the overwhelming "Emotional" to the reggae keyboards of a perfect pop song like "Out Of My Head", hitting almost grunge inflections in bitter-tasting ballads like "Slow Drag", which almost seems to have the shadow of Hole's "Pretty On The Inside" hovering over it, or the disturbing and almost rarefied atmosphere of the gem "Vampires", the vaguely sixties arrangements of "Love Is Expensive And Free", and of course the enjoyable power pop of "Are You Ready For The Fallout", "You're An Ocean", "Fire Escape", and "Sooner Of Later": riffs that immediately get stuck in your head, full and pulsating bass, energetic melodies of great impact, lyrics full of irony; the opposite of the reigning blandness in the post-grunge mainstream rock. In a burst of candid musician ego, Tony Scalzo declared: "I think there's a couple of bands that are still putting out real good quality guitar rock song, and I think we're one of them". Honestly, I cannot disagree with him.
They certainly haven’t changed the history of rock, but the songs of Fastball are excellent and very welcome travel companions at any time of the day: they convey a wonderful feeling of passion and sincerity; no looks, no poses premeditated, no divism of any sort, pure and simple love for music, and for this, Tony Scalzo, Miles Zuniga, and Joey Shuffield should only be proud; proud of their career moving forward resolutely in total indifference, proud of being snubbed by MTV, proud that Bono will never deign to duet with them, proud to be Fastball and for not having sacrificed their own dignity on the altar of success, and excuse me if that’s not a lot...
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Emotional (02:20)
She was looking right through me like I was made out of glass
a la la la la la
Heaven, lie and tell, comes back like up at a check
Why do you get so emotional?
Why do you get so emotional?
Why do you get
Smokin' and drinkin', tryin' to kick stuff Monday night
Smokin' and drinkin', tryin' to kick start Monday night
I try and I try
A sneaky feeling is coming over me
Why do you get so emotional?
Why do you get so emotional?
Why do you get so emotional?
Why do you get so emotional?
She said
03 Out of My Head (02:33)
Sometimes I feel
Like I am drunk behind the wheel
The wheel of possibility
However it may roll
Give it a spin
See if it can somehow factor in
You know there's always more than one way
To say exactly what you mean to say
Was I out of my head? Was I out of my mind?
How could I have ever been so blind?
I was waiting for an indication
It was hard to find
Doesn't matter what I say, only what I do
I never mean to do bad things to you
So quiet that I finally woke up
If you're sad then it's time you spoke up too
Was I out of my head? Was I out of my mind?
How could I have ever been so blind?
I was waiting for an invitation
It was hard to find
Doesn't matter what I say, only what I do
I never mean to do bad things to you
So quiet but I finally woke up
If you're sad
Then it's time you spoke up
Too
04 Fire Escape (03:21)
Well I don't wanna be President
Superman or Clark Kent
I don't wanna walk 'round in their shoes
Cause I don't know who's side I'm on
I don't know my right from wrong
I don't know where I'm going to
I don't know about you
I'll be the rain falling on your fire escape
And I may not be the man you want me to
I can be myself, how 'bout you?
I don't wanna make you mad
I don't wanna meet your dad
I don't wanna be your dream come true
'Cause I don't know just what I've found
I don't know my sky from ground
I don't know where I'm going to
I don't know about you
I'll be the rain falling on your fire escape
And I may not be the man you want me to
I can be myself, how 'bout you?
I'll be the rain falling on your fire escape
And I may not be the man you want me to
I can be myself, how 'bout you?
I can be myself, how 'bout you?
I can be myself
How 'bout you?
06 Slow Drag (03:37)
Slow drag off a cigarette
Slow drag and I'm lying in my bed
All the world is sleeping like a baby tonight
I wanna lay you down
In the ground, alright.
Slow drag and I can't get up now
Slow drag. You've been messing with my mind
All the world is sleeping like a baby tonight
I wanna see you dead
Laying in the muddy ground
You're nothing to me
Nothing to me
Nothing to me no more
All the world is sleeping like a baby tonight
I wanna see you dead
Laying in the muddy ground
You're nothing to me
Nothing to me
Nothing to me no more
07 Are You Ready for the Fallout? (03:11)
I was wondering how you're feeling
i thought I saw you kneeling
And holding your gut last night
It looked like you were praying
But I heard someone saying
You had been in an awful fight
You get the worst of it everytime
Lashing out with no reason or rhyme
To lose all this rage, at so tender an age
Little baby growing up in a rat cage
Chorus 1:
Are you ready for the fallout?
Who you gonna call out?
When does it finally come to blows?
I think that you're forgetting
The blood that you'll be letting
Has a price on it, no one knows
You may be suffering in your sleep
You may be getting in WAY too deep
And you may not care for advice that I share
In one ear and out the other
Chorus 2:
Soon you will learn how to swallow a tear
So when you're old you can cry in your beer
Do you spit at the face staring back in the mirror?
Do you have any self respect?
Chorus 2
Well what the hell did you expect?
Chorus 1
Are you ready for the fallout?
Who you gonna call out?
One word was missing :
You may be getting in WAY too deep
08 Dark Street (03:27)
When will it stop raining? When will these dark clouds go?
some days I get so low, but you turn me around, you turn me around
won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
Won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
You take away my sadness and the pain inside my heart
sometimes I fall apart, but you turn me around, you turn me around
Won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
Won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
sunshine
Won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
Won't you come down to my dark street, and shine a light
'cause I need your sweet sunshine
oh yeah, oh come on down, come on down
and never leave my sky again
shine your love light, love light, love light, love light
down on me, down on me
09 You're An Ocean (03:18)
Can you make it easier
For me to understand
How you're holding my heart
In your trembling hands?
Eyes that rise to meet me halfway
Up among the stars
You may be from Venus I'm definitely not from Mars
You're an ocean you're an ocean
Settle down settle down
What's the commotion?
I'm an Island
But you're an ocean
It's a stormy sea of love and emotion
You got me suspended motionless in time
Make the warm wind circle round
My head just like ya do
If I could do it,
I'd be doing it to you
I believe I'd buy whatever you would sell to me
Nothing in my life ever came with a guarantee
You're an ocean
You're an ocean
Settle down settle down
What's the commotion?
I'm an island
But you're an ocean
It's a stormy sea of love and emotion
You got me suspended motionless in time
I believe I'd buy whatever you would sell to me
Nothing in my life ever came with a guarantee
You're an ocean
You're an ocean
Settle down
Settle down
What's the commotion?
I'm an island
But you're an ocean
It's a stormy sea of love and emotion
Ya got me suspended motionless
Ya got me suspended motionless
Ya got me suspended motionless in time
11 Human Torch (02:41)
Sunrise six o'clock and I'm still sleeping
I don't have to work on Saturday
But I do anyway
'Round the corner right on up through the shop
I come creeping, but it don't matter anyway
'Cause I know it's just as well
And even so I feel like hell
You can say that it's alright
But I am not that kind
And I can see the forest through the trees
I am on my knees
I don't know if I'm supposed to stay
Or if I'm supposed to leave it all
Behind the door the world outside still spins
Waiting there behind the door
But I won't let it in
Not today, not tomorrow, not next week
You're just gonna have to pay five bucks to see the geek
'Cause I know it's just as well
And even so I feel like hell
You can say that it's alright
But I am not that kind
And I can see the forest through the trees
I am on my knees
I don't know if I'm supposed to stay
Or if I'm supposed to leave
Please draw your attention
High above the center ring
Up in the rafters
Five hundred feet above the crowd My hair is soaked in kerosene
My clothes are wet with gasoline
You only get to see this once
The human torch is going down
Going down
12 Sooner or Later (02:39)
I'm gonna get under your skin
Sooner or later
I'll find the key that lets me in
Sooner or later
Yea 'cause you just can't keep me down
Yea 'cause you just can't keep me down
I'm gonna take my time all right
Sooner or later
You gonna let me treat you right
Sooner or later
Yea 'cause you just can't keep me down
Oh if you'd only give me
Time
Is really all that I need
To push it through
To make you see
I'll make you see
I'm gonna take my time all right
Sooner or later
You gonna let me treat you right
Yea 'cause you just can't keep me down
Yea 'cause you just can't keep me down
Time
Is really all that I need
To push it through
To make you see
I'll make you see
Sooner or later [Repeat]
13 Love Is Expensive and Free (03:03)
You can talk to me about powder kegs
how I'm sitting on one right now
You could warn me about candles at both ends burning
from the outside in
But don't tell me about true love
'Cause I don't think you really know
You need to pay the cost
You need to feel the loss
'Cause love is expensive and free
Love is expensive and free
Talk to me about appearances
I tell you lately they mean less and less
Do your best to keep me occupied
It's hard to concentrate, I must confess
Don't you tell me about heartbreak
'Cause it ain't written in the stars
You need to pay the cost
You need to feel the loss
Love is expensive and free
Love is expensive and free
Love is expensive and free
Allright, you got me
Don't you worry about my baby
Her eyes are open all the time
I could never dare deceive her
Much less remove her from my mind
I didn't talk to you about true love
I didn't think you'd understand
We need to pay the cost
We need to feel the lost
Love is expensive and free
Love is expensive and free
Love is expensive and free
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