Customer Reviews

Kimi Ga Suki* Raifi

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Kimi Ga Suki" finally makes its stateside appearence on CD and, although it's not Sweet's best album, it can more than hold for the most part. The most melodic songs on the album like the rocking "Dead Smile" or "Through Your Eyes" will remind you of the best material from Sweet's "Girlfriend" or "Altered Beast". The production is a bit thinner and not as splashy or slick but that's no surprise given that Sweet recorded this at home. "Ocean in Between" recalls "Girlfriend" the most with an infectious hook, killer harmony vocals and a melody that ingrains itself into your brain almost from the first verse. As a result, everything from the best songs to some of the lesser ones have a flow unlike some of his previous albums.

The good news that many of his usual collaborators appear here including Television guitarist Richard Lloyd. His guitar work adds much needed bite to some of the weaker material which gives it a bit more substance. The home recording approach actually works in the album's favor making it difficult to pigeon hole the album's sound. While much of it does recall his previous material, the best songs tend to build on rather his other albums rather than standing at the same level. Adding to the charm is the fact that Sweet wrote the album straight through vs. accumulating songs over time and recorded them in a rush of activity over a week or so. This approach (like McCartney's on "Driving Rain")only adds to the quality of the songs and charm. There's no second guessing here as there wasn't much time to do it.

"Kimi Ga Suki" may be an imperfect album but it's an imperfect album packed with ingenious melodies, sharp playing and singing as well as musical ambition. Unlike another reviewer here, I actually did like "Thorns" and "In Reverse" as they both showed a willingness to step away from a sound that made him successful and take risks outside the power pop genre.

Girlfriend is widely regarded as one of the best albums of the 90's. To my ears, this one is just as good, if not better. Sweet hooks galore, Richard Lloyd's blistering guitar solos, a rhythm section that will make you bob your head uncontrollably, and luminous production equal a classic in the making.

Now that it's been released for domestic consumption, there is no excuse not to buy it. Hit the 1-Click button now, you won't regret it.

I bought this CD from amazon as an imort back in April 03. Since then it has not left my C.D. player! Mr. Sweet has hit the nail on the head with this one. By far one of his best C.D.'s ever. Catchy songs, catchy guitars, wonderful musicians such as the great Richard Lloyd and the best drummer in the world, Ric Menck. If you don't have it, GET IT!

Pop Kulcher Review: Matthew Sweet's promised "return to form" after several years of weak albums, lukewarm side projects, and assorted anthologies, came via a strange route -- a Japan-only release, put out as a sort of thanks to his Japanese fan base and available to US fans only as an overpriced import. I didn't feel like blowing the price of a box set on a single album, but fortunately he finally made it available domestically in early 2004, albeit only through some indie music stores and Amazon.com. Having finally surmounted the hassle, I can happily report that the album is pretty good. Not great, mind you, but pretty good. Meaning it's not up there with his peak trilogy of Girlfriend/Altered Beast/100% Fun, but for the most part surpasses his more recent work. Of course, I found his last outing -- as part of the "supergroup" trio The Thorns belting out largely faceless harmony-crazy AOR-friendly pop ripped out of the Tom Petty/CSN songbook -- less than exemplary, so this can't help but be a bit better. Unlike most of his painstakingly-crafted studio work (particularly his last pre-Thorns album, the semi-bombastic In Reverse), this was recorded over the course of a week in his home studio, giving it a more off-the-cuff, organic feel (though like many modern home recordings, it still has some of that artificial digital Pro Tools sound going on). The tracks alternate between acoustic pop and rousing electric pop (the latter featuring some guitar contributions from Girlfriend-era guitarist Richard Lloyd, upping the excitement ante a tad). All is fairly catchy, though not many have the staying power of Sweet classics like "Evangeline" or "Sick of Myself" -- an exception being the phenomenally infectious "The Ocean In-Between," one of his best tracks in years. Fortunately, while he's still hanging out in mid-tempo harmony land, many of the tracks have an edge largely absent from the Thorns disc. Does it add a lot to the Matthew Sweet legacy? Probably not; at some point, there's only so much you can do within his power pop framework. But it's worth having around, and certainly not best relegated to some import-only market.

The man is a genius, and this album proves it. Melodious. Harmonious. Great tunes. Great guitars. One of his best albums ever. It is so sad that so few will ever hear these beautiful songs. Listening to this music makes you want to live forever.

It's wonderful to hear Matthew Sweet so happy. This is Sweet's "love letter to Japan," written in a single week with his Japanese fans in mind. The music positively beams, and his happiness is infectious.

Where "In Reverse" felt like a magnum opus that he must have fine-tuned for ages, "Kimi Ga Suki Raifu" is like a series of quick life drawings, a musical sketchbook. The songwriting and arrangements are pretty straightforward, even by power pop standards, but that's part of its charm. Some of the ideas aren't fully fleshed out (some tracks feel like =half= of a great song) but on the whole it's a refreshing approach, and it's easy to get caught up in his enthusiasm and abandon.

Vintage Matthew Sweet. At first appears uncomplicated, yet after repeated listens, it soaks in and stays with you. He still creates unbelievably catchy tunes. With some, he leaves them just that way. With others, he hides them under a sonic blanket of noisy guitars, drums, bass, and effects. Sometimes I feel like he's almost daring you to stay with him through the noise.

Those who do, are rewarded.

A Must for any Matthew Sweet fan and a You-Really-Should for any fan of power pop/rock.

Yeah, so it's no masterpiece, but whaddya expect for a home studio concocted CD? He's flying by the seat of his pants and you can tell he's having a ball with his buddies just laying down tracks as fast as he's writing the stuff.
I think it's the immediacy of it that ropes me in.
But hey, I'm a musician. I CRAVE that sort of thing.
If you loved GIRLFRIEND, you may not fall in love with this one, but one thing for sure... it don't SUCK.
Thumbs up, Matthew. You probably don't remember me backstage at the Indigo Girls show in NC on the Girlfriend tour, but it doesn't matter. Brad Jones was your bass player at the time and he's one of my best buds.
He rocks; you rock... keep on rockin'...

FHC 2004

I can't say enough good things about the sound of this disc...so glad that it's now available at Amazon without the hefty import price of a few months ago! I think it's a definite return to the sound of the earlier discs, what with the sweet & crunchy guitar solos and soaring vocals that dominate the well-written songs. Highlights for me are "The Ocean In Between" and "I Don't Want To Know." A great disc for your next road trip! Classic Sweet sounds, indeed!

I didn't quite know what to expect when I bought this album but I was surprised. I've been listening to Matthew Sweet since Girlfriend and I was disappointed by In Reverse and the Thorns experiment. This album has all of the power pop excellence that Matthew Sweet is one of the best at performing. Great guitar work and clever songwriting.