Despite the lyrics to their biggest hit song referring to never growing old, time marches on for everything.  And so it is that Fastball's sophomore album All The Pain Money Can Buy is marking its 20th anniversary this year.  To celebrate the occasion, Omnivore Recordings is releasing an expanded edition of the album on November 9.

Formed in Austin, Texas in 1995, Fastball consists of Tony Scalzo (vocals, bass, keyboards, guitars), Mike Zuniga (vocals, guitars) and Joey Shuffield (drums, percussion).  Playing locally around Austin, the band got a following which attracted the attention of Hollywood Records who signed them.  Their debut album, Make Your Mama Proud, was released in 1996.  The record did not fare well on the charts and the band's future was uncertain.  All three members still had side jobs before the release of their second album in 1998.

All The Pain Money Can Buy was released in March, 1998 with all of the songs written by Scalzo or Zuniga.  The album's debut was preceded by the release of the single "The Way" in February.  It catapulted the band to success.  Peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in April, it remained there for seven weeks.  Within six months, it went platinum.  The song was also nominated for two Grammys.  In 2007, it made VH1's list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s."

Propelled by the success of the "The Way," All The Pain would eventually go platinum itself.  Two further singles were released from the album.  The first, "Fire Escape," released later in 1998, did not have as much success as its predecessor, hitting No. 13 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.  The next single, "Out Of My Head," improved the group's fortunes again by reaching No. 20 on the Hot 100 chart.  The chorus of the song was reinterpreted in Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello's 2016 hit "Bad Things."  Fastball is still together and touring.  They have released four albums since All The Pain with the most recent being Step Into Light in 2017.

Omnivore's new reissue expands the album's original 13 tracks with an additional 9 songs.  Among those are B-sides "Freeloader Freddy," "Androgynous," an acoustic version of "The Way," and a cover of Bacharach and David's "This Guy's In Love With You."  Also included is "Quit Your Job" from an Australian limited-edition version of the album and four unreleased demo versions of "The Way," "Fire Escape," "Slow Drag" and "Sweetwater, Texas."  The package features rare photos and an essay by Scott Schinder featuring a new interview with the band.  The reissue is available as a single CD or a 2-LP vinyl set.

If you would like to the travel the roads with Fastball back to the late 1990s on November 9, we've got the full tracklisting and Omnivore preorder link below.  Watch this space for Amazon links!

All The Pain Money Can't Buy: 20th Anniversary Edition (Omnivore OV-299, 2018)

1. The Way
2. Fire Escape
3. Better Than It Was
4. Which Way To The Top?
5. Sooner Or Later
6. Warm Fuzzy Feeling
7. Slow Drag
8. G.O.D. (Good Old Days)
9. Charlie, The Methadone Man
10. Out Of My Head
11. Damaged Goods
12. Nowhere Road
13. Sweetwater, Texas
14. Quit Your Job
15. Freeloader Freddy
16. The Way (Cassette Demo) *
17. Fire Escape (Demo) *
18. Slow Drag (Demo) *
19. Sweetwater, Texas (Demo) *
20. Androgynous
21. This Guy's In Love With You
22. The Way (Unpaved Acoustic Version)

Tracks 1-13 released as Hollywood Records HR-62130-2, 1998
Track 14 from Australian tour edition of album - Hollywood Records D32149, 1998
Track 15 from "The Way" U.K. CD single - Hollywood Records 569 947-2, 1997
Tracks 16-19 previously unreleased
Track 20 from "So What" A Tribute To The Replacements (Wretched Wrecords ACBCD701, 1997)
Track 21 from Lounge-a-Palooza (Hollywood Records HR-62072-2, 1997)
Track 22 from "Fire Escape" U.K. CD single - Hollywood Records 569 951-2, 1997