Electric guitars—snaky, knife-edged, burred or slab-sided—are Matthew Sweet's armor. Wielded by two legendary artists, Richard Lloyd (Television) and Robert Quine (Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Lou Reed), the guitars give Sweet a leather jacket, with studs, to sheathe his aching, earnest heart.
Sweet's own bass and rhythm guitar work, solid and well balanced, help him move along, giving each song deep footprints and a strong straight-ahead gait. The contrast between the molten, tormented and often self-doubting center and the bristly, assertive surface gives Sweet's tunes their distinctive tension. He crafts his melodies so that they build until the pent-up emotion breaks loose and the rhythmic drive of the song powers through the sudden shower of yearning, ecstasy or exasperation.
With 100% Fun, Sweet has raised his batting average to a career high. The album is strong, accessible and consistent in quality and tone. Is there a "Divine Intervention" here or a "Girlfriend?" A song about loneliness, "Not When I Need It," may come close. But let's let it march around for a while with its heart on its studded sleeve and see how it wears. (Zoo Entertainment)
Various Artists
At 3 hours plus, this 5-CD collection of Best Original Songs is about as long as the Academy Awards telecast itself, but for pure fun, it deserves an Oscar. The 60 cuts cover six decades, from Fred Astaire's version of "The Continental" (The Gay Divorcee, 1934) to Bruce Springsteen's 1993 winner, "Streets of Philadelphia" (sung for this set by Richie Havens). Where else will you find the works of Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern and Henry Mancini side by side with Doris Day's chirpy "High Hopes" and Isaac Hayes's husky "Theme from Shaft"? Licensing restrictions have resulted in some dubious substitutions like Paul Williams for Barbra Streisand on their cowritten "Evergreen" and Vikki Carr's schlocky "For All We Know" in lieu of the Carpenters. But these are minor quibbles about a package that is loaded with charm. (A fact-and-photo-filled companion book is included.) So, this year, if "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" leaves you crying out for a commercial break, you can crank up "Over the Rainbow" and be thankful for the memories. (Rhino)
Marianne Faithfull
There's hardly a whisper of the winsome waif who softly crooned "As Tears Go By" in 1964, shortly before Faithfull hooked up with Mick Jagger and started mixing plenty of sex and drugs with her rock and roll. Today, Faithfull's voice bears the tread marks of her indulgent past, and her songs on this new release have the poignant ring of a ravaged survivor. "My youth lies bruised and broken/ No happy ending to the game," intones Faithfull, now 48, on "Flaming September." Add to that such downer topics as dysfunctional families ("The Wedding") and infidelity ("Love in the Afternoon"), as Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti's cinematic scores loom in the background, and even Pollyanna would be tempted to pull down the shades and shoot out the lights. (Island)
Steve Winwood
For the past three decades, Steve Winwood has made memorable stops all over the pop music map. This overstuffed but valuable retrospective ably tracks his travels. As lead singer with the Spencer Davis Group during the British Invasion of the mid-'60s, Winwood gave a British spin to the blue-eyed soul of the Righteous Brothers. (Songs like "Gimme Some Lovin' " and "I'm a Man" are still combustible.) At 18, he made his imprint on the psychedelic era when he formed the seminal progressive rock ensemble Traffic and delivered "Dear Mr. Fantasy" (several times a day it seemed on FM bands). Next, Winwood joined Eric Clapton, in 1969, as a quarter of the quintessential "supergroup," Blind Faith, and ushered in the age of stadium rock. After a 10-year detour as an austere, artistic solo performer, Winwood came back to great acclaim in 1986 with the soulful splendor of "Back in the High Life."
The music from all phases of Win-wood's career continues to resonate, due to his yearning, funky-choirboy vocals, felicitous writing and expressive arrangements. Yes, this four-CD set is excessive, but it would take more than excess to break the spell of this graceful and protean pop performer. (Island)
Christopher Cross
Cross, whose "Sailing" and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" transformed him into a Grammy and Oscar-winning superstar for about 15½ minutes a decade ago, is back with this retro release. The light, cruise-control pop of "Wishing Well" and the middle-of-the-road acoustic noodlings of "Jan's Tune" (which closes the CD as a—get this—hip-hop remix) sound like it's 1981 again. Even when things get artsy in the opening bars of the sweet, countryish "Thinkin' Bout You," Window remains vintage Cross, maddeningly melodic. Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming these tunes again. And again. And again. (Rhythm Safari/Priority)
>Matthew Sweet
THE KEY BENEATH THE SWEET SURFACE
WHEN THE SMOKE OF SUDDEN STARDOM cleared for Matthew Sweet in 1993, he and his second wife, Lisa, found themselves in L.A. Both Nebraska natives, they had been living near Princeton, N.J., until Sweet's 1991 Girlfriend (his third album, recorded in '90) belatedly ignited his career. One week after the Girlfriend tour, he dived into the studio to "get out my demons" on the warped and driven follow-up, Altered Beast. To finish it, he and Lisa moved to L.A.
"It was kind of a crazy thing to do," Sweet admits. "But my label is based there. And it turns out we've really liked being there. I'm very interested in movies, and I've met people involved in that." Lisa is tutoring kids on the Warner Bros, lot, and the expatriate Husker ("In Scottsbluff, where Lisa's from, you can still see the ruts where the wagon wheels dug into the stone of the Oregon Trail") seems at home.
"This album felt more direct, spontaneous and even effortless than Altered Beast," says Sweet, 30. "It's a good time for concise, melodic, pop-y songs. And I was in a good mood for that."
Sweet laughs. "Lisa and I have been together since before Girlfriend," he says. "Even when my first marriage wasn't going to hell, I could write all kinds of relationship songs. People meet me, and because of my lyrics, they say, 'I can't believe you're so cheerful' But I don't want to be a drag when I'm meeting people. In my work I'm more likely to tackle an issue that's difficult for me than to simply proclaim my happiness. I'm still drawn to a more melancholy and introspective song. I like melody, but with that tug in it. That turning of a key inside you."
- Contributors:
- Eric Levin,
- Randy Vest,
- Jeremy Helligar,
- David Hiltbrand.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
