Utopia Parkway

Cover

The album is named after a major street that connects the neighborhoods of Utopia and Beechhurst in the Queens borough of New York City, and its street sign is featured on the album cover.

Details

Dropped by Atlantic after sales failed to meet expectations, the band had a growing dispute with the company after it put no effort into promoting the albums single "Troubled Times".

Reception

Utopia Parkway was named an "Album of the Week" by People Magazine in 1999 upon its release, but received mixed reviews from music press with some claiming the album showed the band "lacked depth" while others declared it a "masterpiece from the moment you first hear it".

The album contains two fan favorite songs from the Fountains' live performances: "Red Dragon Tattoo," about a boy who gets a tattoo to impress a girl, and "Denise," a faux-grunge power-pop confection where the songwriters show their intentionally bad and comic writing with "She works at Liberty Travel/ She's got a heart made of gravel." "Troubled Times," originally written by Collingwood when he and Schlesinger were in a previous incarnation of Fountains of Wayne called Pinnwheel, is also a fan favorite.

"Red Dragon Tattoo" was featured prominently throughout the Stephen King mini-series Kingdom Hospital. The 2008 Dar Williams album Promised Land includes a cover of "Troubled Times".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.

1. "Utopia Parkway" – 3:09
2. "Red Dragon Tattoo" – 3:32
3. "Denise" – 2:32
4. "Hat and Feet" – 3:03
5. "The Valley of Malls" – 3:23
6. "Troubled Times" – 3:39
7. "Go, Hippie" – 3:58
8. "A Fine Day For a Parade" – 4:13
9. "Amity Gardens" – 3:11
10. "Laser Show" – 2:24
11. "Lost in Space" – 2:19
12. "Prom Theme" – 3:09
13. "It Must Be Summer" – 3:19
14. "The Senator's Daughter" – 3:44
15. "I Know You Well" – 3:26 (Japan bonus track)

Personnel