In Reverse

Matthew Sweet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 12, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Volcano
• ASIN: B00001O2UZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,697 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Millennium Blues

2. If Time Permits

3. Beware My Love

4. Faith in You

5. Hide

6. Future Shock

7. Split Personality

8. I Should Never Have Let You Know

9. Trade Places

10. What Matters

11. Write Your Own Song

12. Worse to Live

13. Thunderstorm

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

To mix metaphors, for most of the 1990s Matthew Sweet didn't so much march to his own drummer as swim determinedly against many of the prevailing rough currents in rock music. For Sweet, the melodic sensibilities, adventurous arrangements, and production values of '60s and '70s pop have remained long-lost Holy Grails to be passionately sought. Closing out what he's termed rock's "dry decade" (for its production values, if not content), In Reverse hearkens back to Phil Spector's wall of sound and Brian Wilson's mid-'60s studio prime with a vengeance. (The great bassist of choice during those epochal recordings, Carol Kaye, is a key player here.) Epic in scope and harmonically intoxicating (if occasionally overwrought), this is an album by an artist measuring the distance between his reach and his grasp, his good sense and self-indulgence, his confidence growing with every back-to-the future track. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Australian edition of the 1999 offering from the hit American power pop/ alternative rocker with demo versions of four cuts added as bonus tracks, 'Thunderstorm', 'Even From My Eyes', 'Yes' and 'Day In The Sun'. 18 tracks total. Standard jewelcase. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Believe the Lack of Hype..., November 22, 1999

By 

Scott Slonaker "Scott Slonaker" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Reverse (Audio CD)

Judging by its pathetic debut near the bottom of the Billboard 200, _In Reverse_ obviously does not seem high on the record label's priority list. (Sweet has two gold records, you know!) I bemoan this more than usual because _In Reverse_ may be Sweet's finest hour. _Blue Sky on Mars_ was largely a smudgy and meandersome mess with a couple of minor gems; this record bears very little in common with it. "If Time Permits" and "Thunderstorm" are the two best examples of the Spectorian production techniques that you've read about. I would go so far as to say that this one even trumps _Girlfriend_, long held up as Sweet's unassailable masterpiece. Among Sweet's albums, only this one and _100% Fun_ avoid the occasional spottiness that seems inherent in a style that aims for pop bliss in three-minute packages. Oh, and "Faith In You" rocks.

Don't let the lack of radio and MTV play dissuade you- _In Reverse_ is phenomenal.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Modern Pop, April 12, 2000

By 

Chuck Augello - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Reverse (Audio CD)

With albums like "100% Fun" and "Altered Beast", Matthew Sweet has flirted with greatness for years. With "In Reverse" he finally gets there. This is Sweet at the top of his game: exquisite melodies, perceptive lyrics, artful guitar work, and brilliant production. Many reviewers have made comparisons to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, but the album this most reminds me of is Side Two of The Beatles' Abbey Road. Many of the songs run together, and the transistions are so invisible that you just fall into the next song and become enveloped by the melody. There's a little bit of everything on this album from scorching rockers like "Split Personality" and "Write Your Own Song" to the sad, wistful ballad "Untitled." The album ends with its masterpiece, the nearly ten minute long "Thunderstorm", a virtual pop symphony consisting of four different songs. While "In Reverse" does not feature one single great track like "Time Capsule" or "Sick of Myself", the album is more than the sum of its parts. It's a true album, best listened to from start to finish, as each song complements the next one musically and emotionally. I can't express how much I love this album. It's been a needed friend to me during a a very sad time in my life. If I'm every sent to that mythical desert island, "In Reverse" is coming with me.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why isn't this album #1?, November 24, 1999

By 

Charles D. Ungar (Torrance, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Reverse (Audio CD)

I am still amazed that Matthew Sweet isn't a household name. This album is his best (and yes I love both Girlfriend and 100% Fun). There are at least 8 songs on this album that could be smash hits if radio had some taste and got off the boy band/rap merry go round. The Phil Spectre like tracks are amazing with headphones and the final track Thunderstorm is Sweet's Abbey Road medley.