Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu

Matthew Sweet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Racm Records
• ASIN: B0002MPQQE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,317 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dead Smile

2. Morning Song

3. The Ocean In-Between

4. I Love You

5. I Don't Want To Know

6. Warning

7. Spiral

8. Love Is Gone

9. Hear This

10. Wait

11. Tonight We Ride

12. Through Your Eyes

13. Silent Track 1

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Matthew Sweet's ROCK & ROLL masterpiece June 18, 2005

By Peter Lavezzoli

Format:Audio CD

Kimi Ga Suki Raifu is really a fascinating item in the Matthew Sweet canon. Originally recorded solely for the Japanese fan base, and initially released only in that country, this album was simply too good to keep from the rest of the world! This may well be Sweet's most consistently powerful and EXCITING album, with special emphasis on the word "excitement." It's even more energetic than Girlfriend or 100% Fun, both of which have at least a couple of low spots, but there is nothing but brilliance here. This is what happens when a great musician places himself into a "pressure cooker" situation, writing and recording an entire album of material in one week. No demos, no excessive overdubs, no second guessing. Matthew brought together his old rock & roll cohorts: Richard Lloyd, Ric Menck, Greg Leisz, for a reunion of the original Girlfriend lineup. Without giving himself the luxury of making demos and reworking these songs, Sweet set himself the challenge of writing and recording 12 songs in one fell swoop, and he came up aces!

All of Matthew's natural gifts are on full display here: passionate hard driving rock and roll, stripped to its raw essence (but still with gorgeous vocal harmonies), with Sweet's acerbic wit in high gear. This is probably his most consistent set of lyrics on one record. His sharp irony and twisted sense of humor in matters of love and heartache is in full effect. No other songwriter can take a love song and make it so sad or angry, and yet so...outrageously funny at the same time, from the title track of "Girlfriend" to "I Almost Forgot" to every song on this record. Picture the romantically jaded Neil Young mixed with the dark humor of Peter Gabriel, and Matthew sits somewhere in that realm. He can make me cry or roar with laughter in the same song, and believe me, that is a RARE gift for a lyricist.

The band is rock solid and as tight as can be. Matthew plays typically great bass on the album, and Menck punctuates with power and intelligence on the drums. Of course, Lloyd's guitar solos are completely demented! Some reviewers have said that this album is under-produced, but I feel the opposite. It was meant to be a stripped down, bare bones rock album, and it was produced exactly as it should be. Concise and cohesive. Sometimes a rock and roll song doesn't need a guitar solo or a synthesizer. Sometimes all it needs is a driving groove, and the quality of the writing takes care of the rest. If there are good lyrics and catchy hooks, the song plays itself. No frills needed. And besides, Sweet's vocal harmonies are overdubbed to perfection here as with his other albums, so the production is spot on as far as I'm concerned. Anything more would have detracted from the visceral power and wit of these songs. Highlights are hard to specify, but Morning Song, I Love You (a scorcher!), and Wait are three of my personal favorites. But again, there is not one single piece of filler on this album, a stunning achievement for a set of tunes written and hammered out in one week.

On a sadder note, I must say that his recent album, Living Things, is such a terrible disappointment compared to this album. It's a sloppy, overproduced, poorly written record that is actually quite depressing and possibly qualifies as Matthew Sweet's worst album (in my opinion). Fortunately, the immediacy and sheer brilliance of Kimi Ga Suki Raifu proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that when Matthew Sweet makes up his mind to rock, he can produce an album of stunning power and personality like this one. This CD should be in every rock collection, and certainly no one who appreciates Matthew Sweet should be without it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Return to Form December 2, 2004

By WrtnWrd

Format:Audio CD

What a good artistic year Matthew Sweet is having. First the U.S. was treated to a lovely new CD, Living Things, that returned him to the power and acuity of Girlfriend. Now a work he originally created for his Japanese fan club only, Kimi Ga Suki, is available stateside, and it's even better (by a hair) than Living Things. There's a looseness to these 12 tracks missing from the official release -- a result of having set himself paramaters and recording quickly. Still, the deadlines worked in his favor. Sweet's gorgeous power pop is a confection, best served fast and fresh. Nuggets here include the aching "Love Is Gone" and the Mach V opener "Dead Smile". If only FM radio would pick up on his singular talent once again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Has moments that compare to his best work 4 1/2 stars July 22, 2004

By Wayne Klein HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

"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.