Fountains of Wayne- Out of State Plates

Now here is a two disc set that didn't need to be released. I did not read the notes very thoroughly, but gave both discs a run through. It seems to be a compilation of recordings that were made but never released or only saw limited distribution. As a whole, it is entirely forgettable, but upon closer inspection, there are a few noteworthy tracks, albeit for completely different reasons. Of the 30 tracks on this set, only 28 are songs, and a few are remakes. Oddly enough, those seem to be the best of the bunch, with a major exception. For some reason these guys decided "..Baby one more time" by Britney Spears deserved to be remade. This is a song that didn't need to see the light of day the first time around. On a more positive note, Trains and Boats and Planes, a Burt Bacharach tune has a nice "Simon and Garfunkle" sound to it. There is a nice ELO remake of "Can't Get it out of My Head" as well.

Disc two has even less worth mentioning. Today's Teardrops, an old Gene Pitney tune once performed by Ricky Nelson is a nice change of pace, as is Half a Woman. Those are pretty much it. There are a couple decent Christmas tunes and an absurdly short Chanukah piece mixed in as well.

Overall, I have to give it a C. Maybe these guys should have waited a few more years to put out this type of release.