Under The Covers, Vol. 1
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Free Music Notes for Under The Covers, Vol. 1
Free Music Review: Quirky and Pleasing Sounds from the Swinging Sixties and Seventies
Hit: 4 Stars
I can see why some people would be less than enthused over a collection of obscure, semi-obscure, and quirky covers from the sixties and seventies. One could read this as a "How Hip am I?" statement by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Fair enough. I know I haven't stopped listening to this record since I bought it. This is clearly a labor of love by Hoffs and Sweet, and their respect for their material and love of the material eminates from every track. To my ears, not everything works. The Dylan cover...sorry, the natural pop instinct this duo brings to every song doesn't quite work here. But "Warmth of The Sun" is gorgeous, with rich harmonies that evoke the Beach Boys original. Same with "She May Call You Up Tonight," one of the great Left Banke songs never heard on the radio. Susanna Hoffs may not be a classically "great" singer, but she knows how to use her idiosyncratic and instantly identiable voice. Yes, you will flash on all those great Bangles tunes when she sings, but you'll notice too how her voice has matured, has deepened, has grown with the years, particularly on Fairport Convention's "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" And Matthew Sweet has always been an uber pop meister, a guy who knows the value of a hook, a guy who obviously spent a lot of time with Neil Young's early 70s records. So it's no surprise that he spearheads the two Neil covers. Maybe I'm just a sucker for sixties nostalgia, but these are great songs with melody and harmonies to spare, not to mention hooks to die for, and Hoffs and Sweet cover them with real care and affection. Pop this in your car's sound system, open the windows, and groove all day or night long. Free Music Review: Psychedelic Pop Glory
Hit: 5 Stars
Susanna Hoffs was simply put on the earth to sing 60's pop songs. The version of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine" that she recorded as part of the Rainy Day (various members of "Paisley Underground" bands from the 80's - Three O'Clock, Rain Parade, et al)collective is sublime, one of the best Dylan covers ever committed to tape. And here she is at her best, hitting the aching melodies perfectly on Fairport Convention's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes," the Stone Poneys' "Different Drum" and the Left Banke's "She May Call You Up Tonight." Matthew Sweet proves to be quite adept at tackling this material, as well, and is at his best while handling the lead vocal on the Beach Boys' "The Warmth of the Sun." If I have a complaint, and this is a quibble, it's that Hoffs and Sweet sing together too often, which creates a same-iness to the songs and doesn't allow their individual voices to shine enough. And 60's psych-pop aficiniados might find some of the selections obvious. But this isn't meant to be Nuggets or Pebbles, it's meant to be two talented singer/musicians sharing their love of the perfect psychedelic pop song, and as such it is a mini-masterpiece.Free Music Review: 3 and a half stars for an inconsequential but sweet Sweet detour along rock's memory lane
Hit: 3 Stars
This album is nice but ultimately trivial. The songs Sweet and Hoffs choose to cover are mostly aces. The problem is that in absolutely no case have they come up with something that could arguably be called the definitive version of the chosen song. The best of the lot are "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "She May Call You Up Tonight", with honorable mention made to "Monday Monday" (which is dropped in key from the Mamas & Papas original and sung as a duet rather than a quartet, but works better than I expected). The worst is surely "Who Knows Where the Time Goes", where the melody seems to get a bit lost amid questionable harmonizing, and which is not even close to Judy Collins' cover, let alone Sandy Denny's original.
I'm a huge fan of Sweet's (_Girlfriend_ will eventually be recognized as one of the best rock albums of all time, and _In Reverse_ is as good a modern + retro melange as anyone is likely to produce), and Hoffs has charted this type of territory before with good results (e.g. her contributions to the obscure Rainy Day compilation, as well as the earlier Bangles releases). And, to be honest, on the whole I can't say anything really negative about this release: It's well performed; obviously this material is near and dear to the artists' hearts; and it's pleasing to the ear. But it just isn't a major work in either artist's discography.
This album is ultimately something pleasant to pull down from the shelf from time-to-time, but not important. Perhaps this album will seem more substantial to someone who doesn't remember (or never knew) the original versions. And, well, if someone like that is introduced to some of rock's riches in this way, I'm not gonna argue. There are (much) worse tour guides, and few better adventures.
Free Music Review: Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Hit: 2 Stars
To the average fan, the pairing of Matthew Sweet, who introduced the non-geek American to anime with his video Girlfriend, and Susanna Hoffs, who taught us all how to walk like an Egyptian, seems a little odd. But they have actually been performing together ever since Mike Myers recruited them to be in Austin Powers backing band Ming Tea for all three of the movies. In fact if you look closely to their album, Under the Covers, vol. 1, you can see their character's names from the films, Sid and Susie, on the cover.
The title refers to a collection of covers that the psychedelic 60's Austin would be proud of including songs by major artists of that era's pop like The Beatles (And Your Bird Can Sing), The Beach Boys (Warmth of the Summer), and Bob Dylan (It's Over Now, Baby Blue) as well as more obscure tracks like I See the Rain by The Marmalade. There are even two Neil Young and Crazy Horse tunes for good measure including one of the most recognizable songs on this collection, Cinnamon Girl.
The other song of note is The Mamas and the Papas which shows exactly where this album falls flat, having two people try to harmonize on a song meant for a quartet. This is also the case for The Beach Boy's song too. In fact, whenever they duet, the songs seem to fall flat except for I See the Rain and sound much better when they trade lines or verses like on Different Drum, made famous by The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt, where Susanna shines reminding us what made The Bangles so good. But in the end, unless you love the first three Austin Power's soundtrack and can't wait until the inevitable fourth, you would be better off just getting the original versions.
Free Music Review: Hop on the Pop
Hit: 5 Stars
Speaking as someone who has the original version of every tune on this record on either CD or iTunes (and earlier covers of a few of them as well), this is a highly successful backward glance by two pop-oriented musicians, and we're lucky to have this souvenir of their influences.
I hate to disagree with a couple of the grumps below, but Susanna Hoffs has a good pop voice. It's too thin to stand up to Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes," but on "Different Drum" what she lacks in Linda Ronstadt's vocal strength she makes up for by staying on-key (I'd suggest that the ear of one reviewer below is what's "off"). The "no power" gripe is also off-base; few of these songs went beyond pure pop anyway, but when it's called for a little muscle is supplied. For instance, Richard Lloyd's guitar beefs up the Marmalade's "I See the Rain" beyond the original's psychedelic swirl. I wish they had taken the same approach to "Baby Blue," which seems based more on early covers of the tune than on Dylan's original; had they gone the 13th Floor Elevators route they might have had something. That's not the only tune that fails to improve on its source material, but I'd say 10 of the 15 are pretty close to flawless.
Of course, all this assumes you're coming at this from a pop perspective. The Matthew Sweet here is straight out of his early '90s power pop phase, but the tunes aren't nearly so aggressive. But I'd say if you value melody and harmony over power and crunch, you should enjoy this record.