So why is Fastbacks’ …And His Orchestra on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
My love affair with the Fastbacks began by way of two songs that were included on the incredible soundtrack to a documentary called Hype! (#118 of best 1,000 albums ever), which looks at the origin myth and subsequent exploitation of the “grunge scene” in Seattle: “Just Say” and “K Street.”
The studio version of “K Street” that appears on …And His Orchestra doesn’t have quite the punch* of the live version on Hype! but nonetheless it’s a magical song that’s a sublime meshing of pop and melodic punk and alternative rock.
* …And His Orchestra is the Fastbacks’ first studio album, and the sound production isn’t nearly as good as on later albums. Nonetheless, the song quality and the band’s overall energy is showcased well enough throughout.
As it happens, …And His Orchestra is jam packed with other wonders so as to make it worthy of being on the cusp of the Top 150 of this best 1,000 albums project thing.
There are endless Fastbacks cuts that I could slap the description “I can’t ever get enough of” on, and “Seven Days,” the album opener, is one of them. A ferocious fusillade of guitars leads into a delightful melody that hangs over propulsive punk rock.
But here’s the thing: punk rock from the Fastbacks is never aggressive to the point of being off-dputting: it’s jaunty, exhilarating, joyous.
“Wrong, Wrong, Wrong” opens on a drumbeat that could almost be a Go-Go’s track, and really that’s a good comparison all told – this is pop punk Go-Go’s out of the Pacific Northwest with incredible vocals from Lulu Gargiulo and Kim Warnick and a masterful knack for songwriting.
“Fast Enough” proves that the Fastbacks can thrash it up with the best of them when they’re of a mind.
“Midnight Confessions” is a dynamite power pop cover version of the (kind of incredible) original by The Grass Roots.
I find the vocals on tracks like “Only at Night” to be dreamy and wonderful.
Some stats & info about Fastbacks’ – …And His Orchestra
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Seattle Bands, Pop Punk, Alternative Rock, Punk Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was …And His Orchestra released? 1989
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #157 out of 1,000
Fastbacks’ …And His Orchestra on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Fastbacks’ …And His Orchestra that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
And I can’t believe how lonely it is here on K Street, there’s no one like me here on K Street.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.