Customer Reviews

Under the Covers

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Under the Covers" is a solid album covering '60s and '70s pop tunes. Sweet and Hoffs have the talent and production chops to put together convincing remakes of some well known songsand some exciting obscurities. Mostly it works well, although Sweet should never again attempt early-period Beach Boys (he just can't sing up there effectively). The album is more a celebration of Sweet and Hoff's great taste (and Sweet's guitar prowess) than an album with anything urgent or fresh to say. It's a pleasant listen and a good way of getting lots of great tunes in one place. But it doesn't really do anything all that innovative or moving.

Run to me whenever you're lonely.

Run to me if you need a shoulder

Now and then you need someone older,

so darling, you run to me.

These are some of the memorable lines of the song entitled "Run To Me' by The Bee Gees at the end of this CD; and like the rest of this CD the effect really packs a punch-the message all throughout this CD that Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs want to give us is that some songs are just plain too good to ever be forgotten. Under The Covers is a great album of `60s songs as well as a tribute to these songs. Of course, the amorous hint of being "under the covers" lends a distinctive romantic and nostalgic flavor to the entire album.

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have teamed up as a fictional couple named Sid and Susie to produce this awesome album of great 1960s music. Indeed, even the title of the album shows what the CD is really all about: great songs from the 1960s being covered (sung) by Matthew and Susanna. Matthew and Susanna not only sing passionately throughout this album; their complete emotional involvement cries out to you to really pay attention and to relish every single minute of it.

The CD starts out with a great track by The Marmalade entitled "I See The Rain." The guitars really rock and Matthew and Susanna really let their hair down for a great rendition of this song. Keeping up the great momentum is the next track written by none other than The Beatles, "And Your Bird Can Sing." It's a beautiful song that will move you; and the musical arrangements are very well done.

Other great songs that I particularly enjoyed and found moving were "Monday Monday" by The Mamas and The Papas and "Alone Again Or" by Love. Then there's the song called "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young and Crazy Horse-it really rocks, guys! Matthew and Susanna sing very well and I loved the musical arrangements.

As Amazon notes, there are good liner notes by Van Dyke Parks.

The quality of the sound is excellent throughout, even on my personal portable music player. I recommend this CD for any fan of great music from the `60s that has faded just a little bit too soon and way too unfairly. Oh, come on-with songs like "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" combined with Hoffs's great vocals this is a sure hit CD. I sure wouldn't mind having volume two! SMILE

Hoffs and Matthew Sweet are clearly having a whopping good time with this album of covers from the 60's which includes well-known and not so well-known songs. The song selection offers an intriguing mixing of obvious choices such as "Monday, Monday" with surprises like the Beatles' rarely played guitar masterpiece, "And Your Bird Can Sing." The arrangments are slavish to the originals, but the material is played and sung with more than enough gusto to compensate for the lack of originality. Hoffs' voice shows a surprising vigor not evident in her Bangles work, especially on "Different Drum" on which she goes toe-to-toe with the original version by the Stone Ponys featuring the classic vocal from a young Linda Ronstadt (although Hoffs' version does lack the charm of the distinctive Southern twang of Ronstadt's voice). Hoffs' voice is well complimented by Sweets', and the two provide some surprising harmonizing on songs like "Different Drum. This is a feel good album if there ever was one and as such it delivers the goods.

The Good

A catchy guitar hook and a blending of Hoffs and Sweet's vocals command "I See the Rain" (The Marmalade). On "And Your Bird Can Sing" (The Beatles), Sweet and Hoffs trade harmonic melodies back and forth. Matthew also lays down a great surf-rock guitar solo. The duo expresses their rocking side on Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl." The tempo is slightly faster than the original, but it still has all of the edgy guitar fuzz. With just one note you will instantly recognize the mark of Brian Wilson on "The Warmth of the Sun" (The Beach Boys). This down-tempo number is lead mostly by Matthew's high-pitched vocals. Susana backs him up on the choruses.

Hoffs has such a sweet voice on The Stone Poneys classic "Different Drum." This is definitely one of the songs I think of when I think of that decade. I had no idea it was written by Mike Nesmith (Monkees). Sweet and Hoffs unleash their rocking side again on "The Kids are Alright" (The Who) and "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" (Neil Young & Crazy Horse). As the duo states in their liner notes, Who doesn't like The Mammas and the Papas? Songs like Monday, Monday were the epitome of the music scene in the sixties.

The Bad

Nothing notable

The Verdict

Not that I lived it, but what I've gathered in my lifetime; this album recreates the sounds of the sixties with beautiful melodies and uplifting lyrics.

This is such a fun record. Lately I've been buying lots of CD's featuring cover songs. This one ranks way up there. Matthew Sweet is just so amazing, and the way he and Suzie sing together is just pop perfection. If you like this sort of CD I also highly recommend "High School Reunion - a tribute to those great 80's films!" That's one I bought last year from Amazon and it rocks!!! As a matter of fact, Matthew Sweet covers Tom Petty's "American Girl" from Fast Times at Ridgemont High on that CD. It's one of my favorites.

And all covers- who would have thought? I had long forgotten about the Austin Powers connection but I had to listen to this after a highly critical/skeptical musician friend of mine told me how good it was. Then I met Susanna Hoffs at a Bangles show and was reminded how GREAT her voice is and how HOT she looks- she is like 47 and could put most 21 year old women to shame. Anyway I had better stop talking about that or that will be the whole review. Highlites? Your Bird Can Sing- man Susanna makes this her own- I would say it is the best Beatle cover EVER. Warmth of the Sun- I worship Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and they did a great job with this one too. Cinnamon Girl- Incredible. The Kids Are Alright- again phenominal. The only one I could have lived without was "Different Drum". I don't buy the hype about Michael Nesmith being a musical genius. I think Hoffs sounds much better than Linda Rondstat but I found it impossible to forget Linda's whining while listening to it. One of the nice things about the album is that it is full of Susanna Hoffs. No jealous bandmates hogging the mic. And Matthew Sweet really compliments her. I have a lot more respect for the guy after hearing his voice and guitar work here.

What do you get when you take two power-pop masters and put them in a room. A great pop record celebrating some sweet music.

Matthew Sweet has always been a sucker for a good cover it seems. He's turned up on more comps than anyone I know.

Under The Covers has been in constant rotation in my car for the past two weeks. Some of my favorite tracks are "Warmth Of The Sun", "Baby Blue", "Sunday Morning", and by far the most favorite track is The Bee Gees "Run to Me". Susanna and Matthew harmonize so beautifully on this track. It gives me chills. and I have to say Susanna Hoffs is HOTTER than ever! Doesn't she age? She's the sexiest woman in rock-n-roll.

By the way, check out High School Reunion - a tribute to those great 80's films! Matthew covers Tom Petty's classic "American Girl" on this CD comp. The guy just doesn't stop. When's Austin Power #4 coming out??? I need more Matthew in the movies. LOL

It's a great premise. A disk of 60s covers by two people who have based their careers, on some levels, doing retro-60s music. The duo also appeared as two-fifths of Ming Tea (the band that is featured in the Austin Powers movies). Oh yeah, and Hoffs was/is in the Bangles, which took many early ques from the Beatles and such.

They don't just tackle obscure material which could have been the easy route. But they cover some heavyweights and popular material. Personally, I'd have voted for the unknown material - b/c how could you really screw it up? ("I See the Rain" "She May Call You Up Tonight", "Run to Me" and "Alone Again Or" for me, are the stand out cuts). Luckily their vocals harmonize well, so even when they are out of their element the results aren't horrid.

The duo does admirably on the Beatles "And Your Bird Can Sing", Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and oddly enough, the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning".

They don't come off as well doing Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" or Fairport Convention's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?".

Then there is the material they had no chance at matching or surpassing - like the Beach Boys' "Warmth of the Sun" or "Monday Monday" by Mamas and the Papas. And there really was no way to best the Stone Poneys "Different Drum" - and they don't. Again, their harmonies save them from being bad covers.

They both come from backgrounds where they harmonize well w/just about anyone (Bangles for her, Thorns for him). Their work here surpasses both the Thorns disk and the last Bangles CD. The disk is lighthearted and fun - with nothing really to prove. It's at least worth a spin.

To the average fan, the pairing of Matthew Sweet, who introduced the non-geek American to anime with his video Girlfriend, and Susanna Hoffs, who taught us all how to walk like an Egyptian, seems a little odd. But they have actually been performing together ever since Mike Myers recruited them to be in Austin Powers backing band Ming Tea for all three of the movies. In fact if you look closely to their album, Under the Covers, vol. 1, you can see their character's names from the films, Sid and Susie, on the cover.

The title refers to a collection of covers that the psychedelic 60's Austin would be proud of including songs by major artists of that era's pop like The Beatles (And Your Bird Can Sing), The Beach Boys (Warmth of the Summer), and Bob Dylan (It's Over Now, Baby Blue) as well as more obscure tracks like I See the Rain by The Marmalade. There are even two Neil Young and Crazy Horse tunes for good measure including one of the most recognizable songs on this collection, Cinnamon Girl.

The other song of note is The Mamas and the Papas which shows exactly where this album falls flat, having two people try to harmonize on a song meant for a quartet. This is also the case for The Beach Boy's song too. In fact, whenever they duet, the songs seem to fall flat except for I See the Rain and sound much better when they trade lines or verses like on Different Drum, made famous by The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt, where Susanna shines reminding us what made The Bangles so good. But in the end, unless you love the first three Austin Power's soundtrack and can't wait until the inevitable fourth, you would be better off just getting the original versions.

Apparently, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs were going to bill themselves as "Sid & Susie." Glad the Shout label has their names on the release, because it made me look twice & eventually get this disc. There really aren't weak tracks on this CD. Cover versions can add to an original or well-known track, simply be a carbon copy or sometimes make you want to go back to the original disc. Two of these tracks have spent a great deal of time in my personal top ten rotation. I think my very favorite, which is a favorite because I kept playing it off the Left Banke record repeatedly back in its day and haven't heard it elsewhere, is "She May Call You Up Tonight." Ian Matthews did record a version of it, but the Left Banke's baroque pop was a unique sound. Sid & Susie give it a hard edge complete with soaring harmonies and jangling guitars, "I've been telling lines I never knew, all to keep that girl away from you." It's a luscious cover, not an obvious choice. Also a wonderful cover is "And Your Bird Can Sing" that pumps energy into what was a minor recording for the Beatles, but gleams with Sweet & Hoffs, "When your prize possessions start to wear you down, look in my direction, I'll be round." "Monday Monday" which will be one of the more familiar tracks is also given an excellent rendition with Hoffs proudly singing the "ba-da, ba-da's" like a boast for the bygone. The track has a stunning energy and is pure delight. I particularly like how the reverb flows into the break before the final chorus resumes. Fairport Convention & Judy Collins are closely identified with the Sandy Denny classic "Who Knows Where the Time Goes." Susan Cowsill recorded a cover of it on her recent "Just Believe It" set that went to the top of my favorite tracks of the year, as did the entire CD. Sid & Susie do a great version here, although I still go back to Collins' crystal Colorado voice and Susan's wonderful reading. I also enjoy their version of the Bee Gees' "Run to Me." The Bee Gees are kind of like the musical equivalent of Woody Allen -- it's hard not to sound like them, much as its hard for other actors not to sound like Woody Allen when doing his dialogue. Their rhythms and sound are so distinctive. This track is a contemplative gem that closes the disc. There are no weak tracks on this set, which makes me hope that a volume two does arrive! Enjoy!