Album Notes

Vintage Guitar Magazine
4-24-03
Dan Forte

I was never a big fan of Fastball's work, but until Live From Jupiter Records I'd never heard the multi-platinum trio stripped down to the bare essentials. Either the band has matured or they were over-produced and over-imaged during their major-label foray (or both). Here, their songs take center stage, with crisp sound and production from engineer Paul Minor. The bass-less, unplugged set was recorded live (and mixed directly to 2-track DAT) at an Austin record store, with Miles Zuniga's lead work confined to acoustic, and Tony Scalzo switching to piano for several songs. The pair collaborated on the Lennon-esque "Falling Upstairs" and "I Get High," which would sit comfortably in the Band's
catalog, while Zuniga co-wrote two songs with former NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson. I still think the melody of their hit, "The Way," sounds suspiciously like "Delilah," but it's given a bolero/cha-cha treatment here that transcends the familiar All The Pain Money Can Buy version. Considering the music industry's woes, this may be the wave of the future. From gig to product took exactly two weeks and cost next to nothing. With Scalzo's High Noon-inspired cover drawing and a co-op arrangement with producer and the record store cum label, they've virtually cut out any middle men. And, most important, this is the group's best effort to date. The label proclaims its dedication to "the empowerment of the independent musician," declaring, "The revolution in music is now." I can only
add: It's about time!