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共22首歌曲

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艺人

Matthew Sweet

语种

英语

厂牌

Fontana a&M

发行时间

2002年10月01日

专辑类别

精选集

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专辑介绍

Matthew Sweets career can be neatly divided into three parts: before "Girlfriend," "Girlfriend," and after "Girlfriend." His transcendent 1991 power-pop album has remained the defining release of his career, and fed by the earlier musical explorations cataloged here, proved to be a peak that hes never fully duplicated. This pre-"Girlfriend" work charts the course to power-pop nirvana, beginning with his second band, Buzz of Delight, continuing through a pair of solo albums and culminating with on-the-cusp-of-"Girlfriend" demos.

This collection skips his earliest released work, performed as a sideman (rather than a front-and-center singer-songwriter) with Lynda Stipes band, Oh OK, but that works residue can still be heard clearly. In particular, the DIY-sound forged by Oh OK and Mitch Easter in his North Carolina Drive-In studio, and the connections Sweet made with other Athens-based musicians (notably, Oh OKs original drummer, David Pierce), lingered on.

This album picks up with Sweets work with David Pierce in Buzz of Delight, represented here by two cuts from their out-of-print 1984 EP, "Soundcastles," and a trio of previously unreleased titles. The bands sound brings mind then-contemporaries such as Lets Active, Love Tractor, and The Neats. Chris Stamey dropped by the sessions that produced the unreleased tracks, lending a hint of the dBs sound. Of the unreleased tracks, "Briar Rose" is especially fine, most closely anticipating later directions.

Sweets Athens connections (specifically, REM manager Jefferson Holt) led to contact with Columbia Records, which in turn resulted in his first album deal as a solo artist.

The musical connections Sweet forged on "Inside" -- most notably drummers Anton Fier and Fred Maher -- would have a more lasting career impact than the album itself. Fier brought Sweet into his Golden Palominos project, having him play bass on the road, and writing and singing the album track, "Something Becomes Nothing." Sweets appearance with the Palominos cut much closer to the emotional bone than the producer makeovers of "Inside," and, once again, he made another important connection, this time with guitarist Richard Lloyd.

Sweets second solo album, "Earth" (on A&M), featured Maher as co-producer, "programmer," and occasional co-writer, with Lloyd, and Richard Quine adding superb guitar parts. Released in 1989, Sweet had yet to fully ground his sound, but he was heading in the right direction. Lloyd and Quines guitars added considerable humanity, taking the edge of the programmed parts, and helping aim Sweets music towards the pure power-pop sound to which hes would eventually surrender. Highlights of "Earth," represented here by tracks #11-16, include the wistful romanticism of "Easy" and the hummable melody of "Wind and the Sun." Sweets lyrics could still be clunky, but at least they werent buried under the mid-80s production gloss of his debut.

Filling out this disc is a quartet of demo versions written and recorded entirely by Sweet during the "Earth" era, and released as rare, bonus B-sides. Most interesting to fans first engaged by "Girlfriend" will be the early demo of "Divine Intervention." The songs lyrics, melody and signature guitar licks are all in place, but Sweet had yet to find the vocal sound that would really define it. Also included from the post-"Earth" period is a demo of "Good Friend," which would eventually be retitled "Girlfriend." Though it doesnt have the polish of the final, the elements that fueled the "Girlfriend" album were almost all in place. Sweets lyrics became more direct and emotional, the guitar playing edgier, and the singing more emphatic.

The album wraps with a previously unreleased 1983 recording of Sweet and REM vocalist Michael Stipe, performing as Community Trolls. Its an excellent, guitar-and-accordion ballad built on two terrific voices that sound terrific together. Hopefully other of the bands tracks will surface some day.

Sweets early work doesnt measure up to that shining moment of pop glory that is "Girlfriend." Still, the seeds of "Girlfriend" are here, sometimes plain to hear, sometimes layered deep under a producers ideas. The evolution from The Buzz of Delights indie-DIY, to the over-produced (and outdated) sounds of "Inside," to the coming-out of "Earth" draws a fascinating journey. Jeff Calders liner notes occasionally slide into hyperbolics, but Sweets personal memories are very enlightening. Those venturing into Sweets back-catalog for the first time couldnt ask for a better guide, one that hits most of the high-points, including some excellent rarities, mostly obviating the need to purchase (and listen to) all of the individual albums.