I decided I had to get into Fall Out Boy's earlier stuff after I started doing it with bands like Sleep Token, Loathe and Bring Me The Horizon. Fall Out Boy is one of the bands I've listened to the longest that I love dearly, and it feels kind of criminal to only have fully experienced the latter half of their discography. Folie à Deux was my next target, given how underrated it seems, and boy was I in for a good time.
Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet stood out the most on this record, both for its musical design and its long name (I love the meme). I remember the very first thing that immediately piqued my interest straight away on the first listen was that part in the first verse where Patrick Stump just says "I didn't" seven times and then "I don't", which scratched an itch in my music brain I didn't know I had.
The electronic elements at the start add a lot of atmosphere to the song, a common theme throughout the record, but it's not the only new sound they threw in. I especially love the horns in the verses and pre-chorus, they complement the sound and give the overall song a unique texture. There are a lot of symphonic elements added to the whole record but I think this song blends non-rock and rock elements the best.
There's a whole lot of gold in the vocal melody department on this song. Other than the aforementioned "I didn't" line, the whole first verse has such a unorthodox vocal melody than I'm used to from Fall Out Boy. The chorus is no doubt catchy, an expected standard for Fall Out Boy, but I really enjoy the contrast between it and the pre-chorus. Going from an intense section to a calm chorus backed by some nice vocal harmonies is an excellent dynamic.
I love how the lower part of his vocal range is activated quite a bit for this song. I didn't know his voice could go that low, or expect him to choose to do so either. He does quite a bit of vocal riffing on the overlays too, which I always love from rock bands.
The guitar parts are simple but effective, especially the power chord riff that runs throughout the entire song. The bass and drumming are solid, and with the incorporation of symphonic and electronic elements here and there, make this song feel extremely colourful and massive.
I'm glad I finally took the time to dig into their older classics, and this will just be the start of it as I plan to dig into Fall Out Boy's entire discography as well as a multitude of other iconic bands. There are a lot of quality songs on Folie à Deux, but Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet felt the most genuine and unique. As bands evolve and change sounds it's always nice to remember and listen to the songs that had their core sound at heart, and this is one of the songs that feel the most Fall Out Boy-like in the record.
Rating: 4/5