10 Essential Classic Fall Out Boy Songs

Since they returned after a three-and-a-bit-year hiatus in 2013, Fall Out Boy have been a different group from the cult kings they once were. After a number of years at the top of the pop punk mountain, the quartet felt disillusioned and decided to take a break, although always left the door open for a return at some point. Each band member went through his own personal evolution during the break – frontman Patrick Stump lost over 60 pounds and bassist Pete Wentz "grew up" in his own words, while Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley... had haircuts – which made their return all the more satisfying when it eventually happened.

Fall Out Boy's two post-hiatus albums – 2013's Save Rock and Roll and 2015's American Beauty/American Psycho – definitely mark a shift in style from the albums which made them famous, favouring high production values, heavy beats and repetitive pop lyrics over the previous formula of raw, guitar-driven storytelling. That's not to say that they aren't great, because they are, but most long-term fans will point to the group's older material as 'true Fall Out Boy'.

With that in mind, here are 10 essential 'classic' Fall Out Boy songs you must check out, if you haven't already. Note the exclusion of the band's most successful mainstream hits, because let's face it – everyone knows about Sugar, We're Goin' Down and This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race already, don't they?

Despite what many fans might tell you, Fall Out Boy’s 2008 album Folie À Deux is a great collection of songs, which were written with high levels of collaboration between Stump and Wentz. One of the highlights of the album is Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet, a slightly haunting and often crushing story of what Stump describes as "infidelity and deception". Understandably originally titled Does Your Husband Know?, it is the only Folie track to be referenced amongst previous singles on later track What A Catch, Donnie (by Elvis Costello).

What makes this song so engaging is its constant shift in style. Starting on a funky swagger with deep vocals and a horn section, it crescendos on the pre-chorus with heavy guitars and the "husband" interrogative, before lifting into an almost peaceful chorus of promise. Headfirst concludes in epic fashion with a heavy chorus complete with emotional vocals and layered, harmonised guitar licks. It's an exhausting ride through a rollercoaster of feelings.