Back in February, Fall Out Boy announced their return to the spotlight after a four-year hiatus, armed with a spring tour and a new album, the audaciously titled Save Rock and Roll. Of course, with such a title comes big ambition, points out Pete Wentz.
"The idea was to make stuff that was a little bit dangerous," explains the band's bass player in a recent interview with Exclaim! "Like, make music that could be played on the radio but didn't necessarily sound like other music on the radio."
To do that, the group recorded in secret, enlisting friend and former Marvelous 3 member Butch Walker to produce. "He's about 10 years ahead of us as far as he's just been doing it for longer," says Wentz. "That really helped us as far as production and unpacking what Fall Out Boy would sound like in 2013."
In addition to re-establishing the band's foothold in the mainstream, the record packs some big-name guests into its 11 tracks, including English singer Foxes, rapper Big Sean and, most curiously, Elton John and Courtney Love.
"Courtney we crossed paths with a couple times before," Wentz says. "When you're putting out an album with the title Save Rock and Roll, it's important to have a female rock'n'roll voice on there so girls know that they're not just coat hangers. Courtney just has one of those voices; literally she has one of those voices and as far as intellect and creativity goes, she's got one as well."
The Elton John collab came out of an offer to cover one of the iconic piano man's songs. "He said that he was a fan. Patrick [Stump, lead singer and guitarist] went down to Atlanta and recorded with him."
The multitude of collaborations give the album a certain balance, says Wentz. "[In] trying to make this a balanced, nuanced record you needed certain things. Elton John balances out Courtney Love and maybe Foxes and Big Sean balance each other out."
Save Rock and Roll is out tomorrow (April 16) via Island Records. As previously reported, Fall Out Boy will be heading out on a North American tour, which includes some Canadian dates. Learn more over here.
"The idea was to make stuff that was a little bit dangerous," explains the band's bass player in a recent interview with Exclaim! "Like, make music that could be played on the radio but didn't necessarily sound like other music on the radio."
To do that, the group recorded in secret, enlisting friend and former Marvelous 3 member Butch Walker to produce. "He's about 10 years ahead of us as far as he's just been doing it for longer," says Wentz. "That really helped us as far as production and unpacking what Fall Out Boy would sound like in 2013."
In addition to re-establishing the band's foothold in the mainstream, the record packs some big-name guests into its 11 tracks, including English singer Foxes, rapper Big Sean and, most curiously, Elton John and Courtney Love.
"Courtney we crossed paths with a couple times before," Wentz says. "When you're putting out an album with the title Save Rock and Roll, it's important to have a female rock'n'roll voice on there so girls know that they're not just coat hangers. Courtney just has one of those voices; literally she has one of those voices and as far as intellect and creativity goes, she's got one as well."
The Elton John collab came out of an offer to cover one of the iconic piano man's songs. "He said that he was a fan. Patrick [Stump, lead singer and guitarist] went down to Atlanta and recorded with him."
The multitude of collaborations give the album a certain balance, says Wentz. "[In] trying to make this a balanced, nuanced record you needed certain things. Elton John balances out Courtney Love and maybe Foxes and Big Sean balance each other out."
Save Rock and Roll is out tomorrow (April 16) via Island Records. As previously reported, Fall Out Boy will be heading out on a North American tour, which includes some Canadian dates. Learn more over here.