Customer Reviews

Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

This album is on a par with 100% Fun as Sweet's best. You have to ask why this wasn't the official global CD release instead of the bland 2 star Living Things. Where that album plods into twee plonky territory every other song, Kimi Ga Suki soars and dives with passion and verve, aided by the edgey guitar attack of Richard Lloyd and Sweet's Girlfriend cohorts, an album this one actually betters. If record companies knew what they were doing, this album would put Sweet back on the map and in your record collection. But unfortunately they don't.

This disc was originally released only in Japan, as a "love letter" to Matthew's loyal Japanese fans. It was recently made available to the US audiences. It features a mini-reunion of the musicians that made Girlfriend such a memorable release, back in the early '90s - Richard Lloyd, Ric Menck, and Greg Leisz.

The songs range from crunchy, jangly, guitar-driven pieces (Dead Smile, The Ocean In-Between, I Don't Want to Know, Hear This), to melodic acoustic ballads (Morning Song, Love is Gone) to a Beatles-esque psychedelic jaunt (I Love You). And it wouldn't be a Matthew Sweet CD without an epic closing track (Through Your Eyes).

Top to bottom, this is one of Matthew's most enjoyable CDs, and a must-have for both fans and newcomers.

This is Matthew Sweet's best album.
Just straight-forward rock/pop.
Raw, but melodic tunes with heft and heart.
He cranked this thing out in just a couple weeks,
so he didn't have time to second-guess himself and slave over the production.
So what you're left with is an honest and heartfelt album that's not fussed-over.

In reading Mr Lavezzoli's excellent review, where he says almost everything, I find he has said almost everything I wanted to say.

I found this album and I was put off by the jacket. Sweet has a huge loyal fan bass in Japan which has followed him from "Girlfriend", a Zeitgeist album, one of, if not the best album of the last twenty years, past 'Altered Beast", "100% Fun" and through the sinking ship of the subsequent albums. He as here as he has always a lyric yet mordant writing gift, a great harmonies, jangly Byrds style guitars. There was a dispute of some sort following his early stuff and his band parted ways. He wonderful backup band for Girlfriend, deserved a lot more credit Richard Lloyd, Ric Menck, Greg Leisz, but most specifically Lloyd whose masterful acidic guitar licks played off against Sweets softer lyric tendency. What he has lacked in recent years is Lloyd.

Sweet is a writer/singer capable of both power and sensitivity. Great harmonies, missing from so much new Rock.

New songs (for a live album). His Janapese fan base worships his every note. A famous Japanese artist did the cover as a tribute (famous to the Japanese): the cat is symbolic of Sweet, the Girl Japan! It certainly appeals more to them and Sweet than to me, I guess, but ignore the outside and get inside. This is the power, energy and spontanaeity of "Girlfriend", altho search as I may, there is not a standout cut like "Divine Intervention". Which is why I give it a 4 star rating rather than 5 under my tough grading system.

This album is obscure, you will have to seek it out, I found only one copy in the largest store in town. Your search will be rewarded.

Let's hope Sweets future efforts include Mr Lloyd and the rest of the crew follow this live format rather than the recent syrupy, overproduced, under-guitared albums.

So, I'm ripping my CDs recently and rediscover my Matthew Sweet collection from the early nineties. I thought to myself, "what's he up to now?" So, I discover this "Japan-only" gem a few years late and was STUNNED! This takes you right back to 1991-1995 era Matthew Sweet. I seriously redeveloped my appreciation for Matthew Sweet's acute talents with this one!

Kimi Ga Suki is so under appreciated its not even funny. This is Sweet at his best. It has the major "Girlfriend" era players, Richard Lloyd - guiter, Greg Leisz - guitar, Ric Menck- drums, and its mixes his best rockers with beautiful harmonies. Honestly, the first 3 songs (Dead Smile, Morning Song, The Ocean In-Between) - are absolute Power Pop masterpieces. The rest of the album is very solid as well. The theme of love gone awry present in prior albums is back and better than ever. There is nary a filler song on the album, and the harmonies have never been Sweeter. His best album since "Girlfriend" and that saying alot since Altered Beast and 100% Fun are great albums for sure.

Since "Blue Sky on Mars," I lost track of what Matthew Sweet was putting out. I still love "100% Fun." It is one of my favorite albums but, since "Blue Sky" wasn't quite as good, I lost interest. Well, running across reviews for "Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu," my interest in Sweet piqued once again. Boy, I'm glad I didn't miss this album! It is incredible! The liner notes explain that Sweet wrote all the tracks over a one-week period and recorded them without any demos. Well, I guess that was a recipe for success. The proof is in the pudding! The album is a gift to his Japanese fans (Sweet calls it a "love letter to Japan") and was originally not released in the United States. It is worth owning as an import for the higher price but, I'm glad it is available here.

"Dead Smile"(3:01): Cute little opening rocker, but better tracks are to come including 3 slam-dunks in a row!
"Morning Song" (2:37): Man, this is way too short! One of my favorite tracks on this album. Pleasant, kickback feel.
"The Ocean In-Between" (2:49): Wow, what a beautiful rocker! Definitely a tribute to his Japanese fans. The chorus is wonderful with the sweetest lyrics!
"I Love You" (4:39): Awesome rocker! Grabs you right away! The chorus is amazing! You WILL be addicted to this track!
"I Don't Want to Know" (2:29): OK, we got the 3 slam dunks out of the way (there are 3 more to come). This is a nice, pleasant, soft, yet upbeat, track.
"Warning" (2:53): I actually did not like this song at first. I thought its opening was weak, but it gets better with each listen.

"Spiral" (1:51): Now we're talking! But why do such awesome tracks have to be so short!? I want MORE of this! Dark, furtive-sounding, undertones with excellent background guitar!
"Love is Gone" (3:28): Slow and quiet number.
"Hear This" (3:22): Slam dunk time again! The awesome verses kick! In fact, the chorus is almost a let-down. It is a little country-sounding but not enough to detract.
"Wait" (2:39): OK, not a slam dunk, but still another pleasant track with soft vocals.
"Tonight We Ride" (2:45): Now, this IS a slam dunk! Flat out rocks from beginning to end! Great guitar, awesome chorus! Best track here!
"Through Your Eyes" (5:10): I can see why this is the final track as it has that feel to it. It is a nice, catchy song. At the 3:56 mark, it bursts into a guitar/drum instrumental and then peters out to end the domestic record.
"Silent Track 1" (1:50): I actually ordered the unenhanced domestic version, but received the enhanced one anyway. If you are wondering if the extra track is worth possibly paying additional money for the enhanced version, it is silence at first and then Sweet sings "Sayoonara --I will see you some time soon." I would say it is only for completests.

It's great to see the "Girfriend" era band members back together for this phenominal album.
"The Ocean In Between" has got to be one of the greatest, catchy, and hook filled power pop songs of all time. On of my all time favorite Matthew Sweet songs.
Matthew, keep 'em coming!!!