Change is constant and Fall Out Boy (FOB) is changing in a big way. The emo punk band’s latest Save Rock And Roll does not only try to save rock music or I should say FOB’s idea of what it is. The CD is also a bid for a place in mainstream pop through the exploration of other types of songs.
Save Rock And Roll has the most complex arrangements ever heard from the group. It features elements of R&B, folk pop, club, dance, hip-hop and emo, and a very diverse assortment of guests ever found in a rock album, hip-hop star Big Sean, rocker Courtney Love and one of the biggest stars in pop music history, Elton John.
Was that wincing I heard from rockers out there who doubtless recall Fall Out Boy’s hardcore beginnings 10 years ago? Back then, it was a CD titled From Under The Cork Tree and songs like Thnks Fr Th Mmrs, 20 Dollar Nose Bleed and This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race. Patrick Stump, a rare rock singer who combines R&B sweetness with arena power; bassist Pete Wentz, also the band’s incredible, emo-filled songwriter; Joe Trohman on guitars and Andy Hurley on drums were young, cool and fun.
Nowadays, I expect to hear more wincing from those agonizing over the mainstreaming of this popular band. But change is really inevitable. Even The Beatles went from the bubble gum pop of Please Please Me to the intricate drug-tinged Let It Be. This is really quite daring and it looks like it is working. If FOB stays unperturbed over the complaints from purist ex-fans, then Save Rock And Roll might just prove to be a most effective launching pad for Fall Out Boy’s pop music career.
Now contrary to what some fans might think, this is no sudden about face move brought about by the band’s hiatus two years ago. That was when Stump and Wentz dissolved Fall Out Boy to do solo projects. When those did not work, they got together again to continue their journey. They first gave us an inkling that they were cooking up something different when they added an orchestra and a gospel chorus to some songs in Infinity On High and they had Jay-Z and Babyface in the album. I smelled something brewing then and it has finally happened.
Save Rock And Roll is the band’s fifth CD and is the follow up to Folie A Deux. Most noticeable in the album is the quality of the production. This is first-rate pop rock, sleek but powerful. I listen and I think of how much these boys have learned about music and of how they are now using that knowledge to create music that is their own. They are saving rock and roll but on their own terms.
The Phoenix gets the set off to an epic start. After that, it is a mish mash of sounds that alternate between their anguished sentimentality of their early work and wakened awareness to other themes like the surprisingly folksy Young Volcanoes. The playing is assured throughout. Stump is in full control of his big-ranged vocals and Wentz’s writing just knows when to stoke the fire, Death Valley and when to caress his listeners, Miss Missing You.
Best of the lot is My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up). That title instantly gets you and so will the music. Not that remarkable are The Mighty Fall featuring Big Sean, Rat A Tat featuring Courtney and Save Rock And Roll featuring Elton but those stellar guests certainly save the day.
If you can, do get hold of the FOB Save Rock And Roll: The Young Blood Chronicles, an 11-part video series. You should also prepare for Fall Out Boy’s coming visit in August. They will surely perform songs from SRR and hopefully also their early hits.
Save Rock And Roll debuted at No. 1 in several countries, including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa and the US. At the rate the CD’s sales is going, it is now a sure thing that it will surpass or maybe has already surpassed the record set by Infinity On High for FOB. The album is now nicely perched in the No. 5 slot on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 Albums list. The single, My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark is ranked No. 15 in the Hot 100 hit chart.
Top hits in the music charts
This week’s Top 20 in the Top 200 albums chart reads like this. To Be Loved, by Michael Bublé; Side Effects Of You, by Fantasia; The 20/20 Experiment by Justin Timberlake; Bankrupt by Phoenix; Save Rock And Roll by Fall Out Boy; Based On A True Story by Blake Shelton; Venomenous Rat Regeneration Vendor by Rob Zombie; Indicud by Kid Cudi; #willpower by will.i.am; The Truth About Love by Pink.
The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; I Am Not A Human Being II by Lil Wayne; Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars; Pioneer by The Band Perry; Night Visions by Imagine Dragons; Reincarnated by Snoop Lion; Here’s To The Good Time by the Florida Georgia Line; Tate Stevens by Tate Stevens; Wheelhouse by Brad Paisley; and Babel by Mumford & Sons.