Customer Reviews

100% Fun

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though it does feel a bit quick and slightly empty as a whole, this is still one of the best guitar-rock albums of all time. This would be a great place to introduce yourself to Matthew Sweet's incredible talent. Basically, Matthew Sweet writes some harmony-rich (Matthew Sweet is one of my favorite singers), electric-guitar filled accessible rock songs that are given a classic rock sound by Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine's no-holds-barred leads. The clash of the two sets of styles is fascinating, and it's what makes the songs incredible.

"Sick of Myself" was the hit off this one, and it's classic from all standpoints. It's a grunge-ish alternative song that's three chords and an incredible solo.
"Not When I Need It" is another great song - more alt-rock and less grunge and slower than "Sick of Myself", but otherwise of the same mold.
"We're the Same" was a minor modern rock hit, and is quite good also, though not particularly notable for anything.

"Giving it Back" is a fairly standard rock song that's made worthwhile by the solo - that happens a lot on this album, actually.
"Everything Changes" is a nice ballad-type, with a great melody by Sweet and another great Richard Lloyd lead.
"Lost My Mind" is INCREDIBLY good, with a superb beat and a great feel. This is a standout song all the way around.
"Come to Love" is quite similar to "Giving It Back". Nothing major on this one, but it's nice.
"Walk Out" is roots-rock tinged, with a nice chord progression and - you guessed it - another brilliant solo.
"I Almost Forgot" is a decent enough piano ballad.
"Super Baby" is an interesting mix of gutsy rock, nearly off-key lead in the chorus, and a Moog synthesizer in the post-chorus.
"Get Older" has a good melody on it.
And "Smog Moon" is a song that you will absolutely love if you have any taste. Very tender, very affecting, with an absolutely tremendous melody delivered with true emotion by Sweet. Very powerful.

Sweet is the vocalist, bassist, rhythm guitar player, and keyboardist on this album, with two lead guitarists (Quine and Lloyd), two different drummers who are both good, and - very importantly - Brendan O'Brien as producer. O'Brien contributes a lot of instrument tracks on here himself, and balances the instruments and vocals perfectly, especially where the solos are in ratio to the rest of the mix. Sweet's previous album, Altered Beast, had its leads too much in the front of the mix as produced by Richard Dashut, giving a slightly too chaotic feel, as Sweet's vocals were slightly hard to hear. O'Brien gives a full sound to 100% Fun, making it very listenable and worthwhile. In fact, Altered Beast would have been a masterpiece if O'Brien had produced it (contrast the album version of "Devil with the Green Eyes" and the O'Brien produced remix on the Son of a Beast EP). So his importance cannot be overstated. All told, there is no reason you shouldn't own this album. It's a staple and definer of my collection.

The title gets it right - this is a very fun album. There are a lot of great songs on here. Infectious lyrics and music - it still surprises me that Matthew Sweet isn't more popular than he is.

One other thing...it's a sin that "We're The Same" wasn't a bigger hit than it was. Truly a great song!

I grew up in Nebraska and when I walked into my seventh grade english classroon with a goofy smile and big blue eyes and a short hair cut... well, let's just say my 20something teacher giggled. I am a girl and yes I was accused of looking exactly like Matthew Sweet on the cover of this one... so I had to go explore what my twin look-alike looked like... especially since he was a boy. And that was when Matthew Sweet one a top spot on my list of favorites... from that day on I was always humming a tune from one of his albums. I took that album for granted, as new albums came out 100% Fun got pushed back farther and farther... and I never really truly explored this one until this last year.

In a desperate search for something new to listen to I pulled this one off of the shelf... Its cracked case and sweat stained lyrics book was plopped into my backpack along with my books, an apple and a CD Discman. Later that day I sat at the Union in between classes and opened the case and put the CD into my case and I discovered how truly amazing this album was for the first time... for the first time after owning it for years. I fell in love when the third track rolled aroun, "We're the Same" seemed to mimick my friendship with a boy I knew perfectly. Then he walked into the room making the moment almost surreal.

I will forever wish back to those days that my english teacher giggled at my appearance and just push myself to listen to that album sooner... but it no longer collects dust. Matthew Sweet is so incredibly under-rated, as my friend Junior said "Oh my gosh, you are a die-hard Matthew Sweet fan? I had just imagined those never existed." Well he had only thought that because people do not realize what this man, boy, whatever has to offer. He is not for everyone, but for the one in every however many he is meant for... well, I just hope that you find out soon enough if you, too, should be a diehard Matthew Sweet fan because he is a beautiful find.

And don't you just have to ROCK out when "SuperBaby" comes on... and swoosh around the room when "Smog Moon" plays... and hop about when radio-friendly "Sick of Myself" jumps up at you.

This album is 100% fun, even if I didn't realize it at first.

I got a tape of this album when I was still in high school from a friend, I always loved the music and am so glad I can now replace that very tired cassette tape with a CD.

Matthew Sweet has an unusual sound that is addictive and easy to listen to. I have enjoyed this music for ages and I would recommend that everyone have a little listen as it would appeal to many!

I've recently been listening, after a year-and-a-half gap, to 100% Fun in the car (the perfect place). Upon perusing these Amazon reviews I have one thing to add, something which others have left out and which could explain why this is Sweet's best recording: Richard Lloyd. Sweet's unusually good songwriting is lifted into another sphere here by the guitar contributions of Lloyd and Robert Quine. Many of Fun's cuts are made exciting by the kind of volatile guitar interplay/merging that took Lloyd's old band, seminal new wave wonder Television, into a place of strange, transporting beauty. I wish Sweet would do something this combustible again! Unlike more recent Sweet recordings, this is NOT pop in my book - it's rock 'n' roll - the real thing.

Matthew Sweet's album really is 100% Fun. The song "Sick of Myself" is very intense. It seems to be also cynical yet there is hope. I love the second song "Not when I need it" which
describes some sort of dependency and a need being filled. Don't
we all have something like that in our lives. And the third
track tries to make the claim that in some ways we are the
same, emotionally anyway. Matthew Sweet is an insightful man.

Matthew Sweet is one of those guys that people who know music have heard of but tend to dismiss. The fact is that he put out several great albums in the 90s while being overshadowed by mega-artists such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. This album has several songs that, had they been released in the 70s, would have easily been top ten hits. Timing is everything. This is power pop at its finest. You will not be disappointed.

An outstanding straight ahead rock and roll record. Sweet blends aspects of the very best of classic rock and roll artists, like the Beatles, Neil Young and the Beach Boys, with his own style of melodic mystery grunge to come up with a unique and very entertaining sound. Simply put, the album is fun, it makes you smile and remember simple themes without all the pomp and circumstance or shallowness of most of todays pop music. One of the best rock and roll albums I have purchased in the last ten years.

It's pretty easy to tell that Mathew Sweet's best music comes from heartache. "Girlfriend" hurt and was a wonderful album. "Altered Beast" hurt even more and in some ways was even better than "Girlfriend". "100% Fun" shows Sweet recovering, and the hurt has dissipated somewhat, leaving a less impressive but still excellent record.

Sweet turns out great tuneful songs that, while still filled with ache, now actually seem to overcome the singer's various personal traumas. In fact the album's three best songs ("Come To Love" - dig that pre-chorus!, "Smog Moon", and the almost spookily insightful "Get Older") are the disc's most successful.

"Get Older" is Sweet's second most underrated song (next to "What Do You Know?" on "Altered Beast"). It manages to handle uncertainty, fear, lack of acceptance, and general growing pains in a way that is so sweet that it's almost painful to hear (in a good way).

On the whole, the album brings a satisfying, sincerely hopeful conclusion to Sweet's heartbreak trilogy of albums without ever coming close to being sappy or sugary.

200% is much more appropriate. I have to say that I was first introduced to M. Sweet with 100% when it first came out. I got to see him in concert a week later and I have been a fan ever since. I went back and bought the rest of his cds and have to say 100% is one of my favorite cds of all time. I have to say his latest In Reverse is challenging it though. Overall I say this about Sweet: his lyrics are very well written, his guitar work is among the best ever, and his music is a God send.

I recommend this cd as a definitely must have. I never get tired of it and the ladies love it. This is one of those cds that you can listen to straight through and never want to skip a song. I have to say that those type of cds are very hard to find.

Matthew Sweet rocks!