Altered Beast

Matthew Sweet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Volcano
• ASIN: B000000990
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Matthew Sweet's first masterpiece, January 13, 2000

By 

Scott E. Miller (Fort Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altered Beast (Audio CD)

At the time, people were rather disappointed by this album (if I recall correctly, Rolling Stone even gave it the piddly rating of 2 stars, showing how much they usually know about good music). Everyone expected a straight sequel to "Girlfriend," not a morbid collection of songs about lost love, the loss of faith, and death.

Guess what?

In nearly every way, this is a far superior album to "Girlfriend," especially in terms of songwriting. "Devil With The Green Eyes" and "What Do *You* Know?" are bitter attacks on a (former) loved one, while "The Ugly Truth" and "Falling" deal more directly with the question of faith, or the lack thereof. And then there's "Someone To Pull The Trigger," an unnerving plea for destruction which ranks among the best songs Sweet has ever recorded.

Not all the songs are that impressive, but even lesser songs like "Knowing People" have their moments and pull you along from song to song. Finally, though, there's "Evergreen:" "In every love there is a promise/so baby don't you cry/There's no difference/Between the earth and the sky/there's no reason/we have to die."

On a personal note: I bought this CD the day it was released and rushed home expecting to hear "Girlfriend Jr." I didn't get it, of course, but it ended up growing on me. As I got older and went through some rough times, I often turned to this album in moments of despair and it got me through. I can't express how powerfully emotional it is for me, but I do think it ought to be in any essential music collection. It may not be easy listening, but when was art ever easy?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one to get, November 24, 1999

By 

Miko (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altered Beast (Audio CD)

O.K. here's the deal, I don't know how many people I turned on to Girlfriend when it came out, but it mushroomed into a lot of people. Everybody loved the same thing: the awesome coupling of a great pop hook with psycho guitar work. I guess it simply came down to the quality of the songwriting, but it also seemed "seminal" at the time, and still does. This, however, is a different animal altogether, and it's all the more better for it. Altered Beast is a complete work, best enjoyed as a whole than divided up into pieces. Themes revolve around "Faith" and one's perception of one's self in the world. Musically, it's brutal when it needs to be, and gentle when it needs to be. Plus, the last 7 tracks are absolutely essential, and how many discs can you say that about? And most people are still wishing for a redux of Girlfriend......

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ugly Truth, January 7, 2007

By 

D. Francella "GutterPunk" (Suburbia, wash D.C) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altered Beast (Audio CD)

I first started listening to Matthew Sweet in the summer of 1993. It was the summer between 9th and 10th grade. I would stay up late every Sunday night and watch 120 minutes on MTV, when the used to play vidoes.
They would play my two favorite songs that summer , "Cherub Rock (smashing pumpkins)", and "Time Capsule (matthew sweet)".
I worked a crapy part-time job making 4.25 an hour. I only worked 8 hours a week. A soon as got my first paycheck, which was only 27 dollars, I walked to the mall and bought "Altered Beast", and "Simease Dream" on cassette. That took all my money because cassettes in 1993 were 11.99. I played it until I wore it out. When I finally got my Cd player for christmas that year, those were the first two Cds I bought.
This Cd is still great 13 years later.
1. Dinosaur Act - great opening track, it shows that Matthew can rock pretty good.
2. Devil With Green Eyes - It's one of my favorite songs on the Cd. It's one his more mellow songs.
3. The Ugly Truth - this the mellow version of this single
4. Time Capsule - One my favorite songs on this CD. It's was his second single on this record. Do you remember the video ? It's just him laying in a grass field with bugs and worms crawling on him.
5. Someone to Pull the Trigger - Hands down the best song on this CD. It's mellow and rocking at the same time.
6. Knowing People - It's kind of an anthem that he doesn't want to become famous. He really never did. A great song.
7. Life without You - your basic slow Matthew Sweet love song. It's an alright song.
8. Intro - It's excerpts from the movie "Caligula". "He's a God Now"
9. Ugly Truth Rock - The single version. This was the first single from this record. The video is Matthew driving a dodge dart, running from the police. There is a dead body in the trunk.
10. Do it Again - a pretty good song. A slow love song.
11. In Too Deap - One the better tracks off this album. Pretty good guitar and vocals in this song.
12. Reaching Out - A pretty good song.
13. Falling - A pretty good song. A slower song.
14. What do you Know ? - A decent track. Show how melodic Matthew is.
15. Everygreen - This is a very dood track to end the record with. It's pretty mellow. He like to end his records on mellow songs.
I higly reconmend picking up this Cd.