Customer Reviews

Blue Sky on Mars

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read the reviews of this CD, and disagree with many of them. Sweet has set the bar so high, it just isn't going to happen to recreate Girlfriend, so forget about it. That doesn't mean that he can't still put out damn fine music, which he has with Blue Sky On Mars. No one has mentioned my favorite song of ALL TIME: "Behind the Smile". How many of us haven't been a good friend when we should have been, like when we review great music? Buy this CD and enjoy it!

I agree with the writer below that too many artists currently pad out their CDs with filler simply because the space is there. BUT--it is hard not to feel as though the shrinking running-times of Sweet's records (and their increasingly hit-or-miss songwriting) establish a kind of quantity/quality correspondence. What's next, a techno EP with only one good song? *100% Fun* earns its brevity with sublime writing (it's a bit saggy in the middle, but everything kicks in eventually). With *Blue Sky,* though, it begins to seem as though the bitter weirdness that fueled Sweet's early-90s work has soured into a lack of regard for his audience. Even when he writes a killer hook--"All Over My Head"--he can scarcely be bothered to flesh it out into a song, and the absence of either R. Lloyd or R. Quine in the lead guitar role throws the track into a holding pattern when it should be taking off. In a lesser artist, such modesty wouldn't rankle, but Sweet is clearly more gifted (to say nothing of prolific) than he has recently been allowing. On the whole, this is a real head-in-the-sand effort, worth getting (for fans) for its 3 or 4 great tunes. But one certainly hopes that the bile of indifference will have subsided by the time Sweet next enters the studio.

This record starts out pretty well with "Come To California", the straightforward "Back To You" and the powerhouse "Where You Get Love" with its irresistible roaring outro, but those were the only tracks I could remember when I've heard it through. Still, there are some nifty melodies scattered around. If you look well enough, maybe someday you will find them. And: I think it is a good thing that this album does not last longer than 40 minutes. There are enough of those which drag on far too long...

This is an enjoyable album, and it has some really good, pure melodic pop on it. But I have a few complaints:

1. The songs just aren't quite as catchy as previous work. I find myself programming my CD player around some of them.

2. Matthew fired his lead and rhythm guitarists, and came out worse for it. Hey Matt, those guys were awesome; how come you got rid of them?

3. The album is too short. It's not even 40 minutes.

Despite these shortcomings, it's still a fun, if somewhat cynical, collection of songs.

Because of the success of 100% Fun on modern rock radio, which spun off a respectable amount of airplay from Sweet's previous album Girlfriend, the buzz was that BSOM was going to be a super orgy of sound where all of the greatness of Girlfriend and 100% Fun are in one happy package. Well, when it hit stores after hearing "Where You Get Love" on the radio, I popped it in and was very disappointed in it's supposed promise. A lot of it seemed scattered and two very irritating tracks "Over It" and "Make Believe" never made it past the 20 second mark. But, in hindsight, there's some not too bad nuggets here that emulate songs off of 100% Fun, such as "Heaven And Earth" (Walk Out) or "Where You Get Love" (Sick of Myself) or "Into Your Drug" (broken down Lost My Mind). If you're just getting into Matthew Sweet, bypass this one unless Girlfriend and 100% is plenty. But, if you're thirsty for more and 100% Fun/Girlfriend isn't enough, then go to In Reverse and then go into reverse (hardy-har) to Blue Sky On Mars. Unfortunately, the big sound orgy promised for BSOM ended up on In Reverse while the grand poo-baa of hooks remained back at Girlfriend and 100% Fun, thereby pulling the plug on Sweet's already too-slowly emerging mainstream entry.

.......but not spectacular, not like his other albums at any rate. Throughout the decade, Mathew Sweet has provided lovers of quality rock music with top-notch music. He is one of the few islands amid the sickly sea of sludge that is most popular music. He continues to do that on Blue Sky on Mars, but unfortunately, it just doesn't have the heart of his other works. Still, it's hard to see how anyone cannot like the Beach Boys-like Come to California, or Where Do You Get Love (a song that is the absolute essence of power-pop), or All Over My Head. The rest of the ablum is good too, if not quite up to his usual standards. The problem is not, as some say, the absense of the lead guitars that were a trademark of his earlier albums (especially Girlfriend and Altered Beast). Matthew doesn't need them to make great music. The problem is that this ablum is lacking in substance. Also, although I like a lot of upbeat music as well as the darker stuff, BSOM is a little TOO light for my tastes. It's also too short an album, as has been said over and over again by numeruous others before me. Having said all that, take heart, because this is still on of the best albums of the 90's. It's really fun to listen to, and it retains the essence of Matthew Sweet, albeit in a way you may not be used to hearing. It may not be his best work, but it is MILES above anything most artists will ever even dream of doing.

Blue Sky On Mars is a damn fine record as far as rock goes. It has many good points such as "Where You Get Love" and "Heaven and Earth" that also showcase Sweet's experimenting with old keyboards such as Moogs and Mellotrons that were only used in a previous outing, 100% Fun's "Lost My Mind". The punch of fuzz Fenders still ring true on Blue Sky, but for some reason the sound is somewhat murkier than Girfriend or 100% Fun. But compared to the music being put out in 1997, when Blue Sky was put out, it's still one of the very few good ones of that year. It's still a new sound that has influences of Yes, The Beatles and The Undertones, which does create a good record. If you liked Girlfriend, Altered Beast or 100% Fun, this album will quench your want for other Matthew Sweet material just fine.

On another note, I think I found where Bud Bundy went...he's Matthew Sweet's bass player on the Blue Sky On Mars tour. I thought he was in Live's "I Alone" video, but he ended up with Matt on bass.

yeah there's no lead guitar.

yeah it was recorded on the Wallensac at 3 3/4 ips, BUT on the other side the songs are more UPBEAT and less embittered and cynical than earlier albums.

Matt, buddy, is there a better version of this album over at your house, with the lead guitar tracks still in, as it was originally recorded before you had the fight with Ivan?

This album is full of excellent tunes. When You Get Love is one of my favorite songs of all time.

I loved the album. The songs were upbeat and that is a welcome change with all of the depressing rock out on the market today.