Customer Reviews

Under The Covers: Vol. 2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As in the first volume of this series, which focused on the 60s, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs pay tribute to the 70s with more of their perfectly selected, arranged, and performed covers. While faithful to the originals, these tracks vary in many ways, both in the colors their voices bring to the harmonies and in the styles of guitar work on display.

Both performers clearly love the era and the radio singles they sang along to when they were young. Their emotional fidelity is as remarkable as their technical proficiency, and the fact that both have retained their youthful attitudes and voices in middle age (Hoffs is 50!) amazes this aging baby-boomer.

The CD is a joy to listen to, and we can only hope that the two will give us further volumes devoted to the 80s, when Hoffs' group The Bangles had their heyday, and to the 90s, when Sweet made his commercial breakthrough.

I also recommend the bonus mp3 tracks that you can download for this album on Amazon or iTunes. They include ten more interesting and adventuresome cuts:

Dreaming (3:07)
Marquee Moon (11:40) (even longer than the original!)
I Wanna Be Sedated (2:23)
Baby Blue (4:00)
You Say You Don't Love Me (3:07)
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (4:22)
You Can Close Your Eyes (2:47)
Melissa (4:34)
Killer Queen (3:08)
A Song For You (5:07)

There are two paths that musical artists can take on a cover album: The safer course of offering faithful renditions that don't stray too far from the original arrangements and then being accused of lacking originality, or the riskier course of radically rearranging the songs and then hearing critics say "I don't think Hank done it this way." Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have done the former on their second volume of "Under The Covers" tunes.

Like the first album, which came out three years ago, the harmonies and music are first-rate. The focus has moved from the late '60s to the early '70s, but the vibe is still the same. If you enjoyed "Vol. 1," as I did, then you'll probably enjoy this one, too. If you're looking for radical reinterpretations of these songs, you'll be disappointed. Those who are just looking for some entertaining cover tunes will probably find at least a couple of new favorites among all of the different types of songs that the album offers.

Like the first album, some of the songs are more familiar than others. This is a whole different kind of risk: How do you top the original version of a mega-hit song like "You're So Vain" or "Maggie May," signature songs for Carly Simon and Rod Stewart? The answer, of course, is that you probably can't top it, but you can offer a solid cover version. Susanna does a nice raspy Rod-style vocal on "Maggie May," and a nice version of "You're So Vain" as well, even though Carly's original will remain my favorite. Matthew Sweet is a vocal chameleon, channeling the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Todd Rundgren and John Lennon with equal aplomb.

Sid & Susie (Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs) take on the 70's with just as much success as they did with their on the 60's on Under The Covers, Vol. 1. Even to a child of the 80's like myself, who's not a particular fan of 70's jams... this collection shows just how good some of the music really was back then. Hoffs is right on with her vocals and delivery and Sweet's musical sensibilities really make these classic songs shine while remaining fairly true to the originals. I must add that it is particularly worth downloading the 10 extra bonus tracks here on Amazon, as some of these exclusive tracks are absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended!

After several years of enjoying volume 1, I eagerly awaited volume 2. I was disappointed. Susanna Hoffs sings every song in the same voice, pleasant and pretty but totally lacking in dynamics. Great songs, great instrument tracks, but how can someone sing "Bell Bottom Blues" or "Everything I Own" in a voice totally devoid of emotion? Stick to volume 1.

Look, I loved the first one. And when I saw the track list of this one I very nearly salivated-- two of my favorite artists performing a slew of my very favorite songs. I was looking forward to this release for months.

And then it arrived...

How, I ask, can something that seems so exquisite on paper turn out to be so boring?

I think that the fault lies in the extent to which these are, indeed, such faithful covers. I generally think there are two valid approaches to doing a cover. One is to reinvent the song, making it your own in the process (e.g., Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah.") The other is to play the song basially straight, in the process showing how the artist of the original influenced the artist doing the cover (e.g., any Dave Edmunds cover of a Chuck berry song.)

These covers meet neither criteria. They are note-perfect, which seems to render them rather pointlss. For example, you can't hear "Couldn't I Just Tell You" without immediately wanting to hear the Todd original instead; ditto Big Star's "Back of a Car" and most of the others.

Clearly a labor of love, and I share the love, but a little less reverence would have gone a long way. And again, I loved volume 1, and am a sucker for Sweet and Hoffs and love all these songs. Bellieve me, I wanted to love this. it was like getting a date with the hottest girl in school, and half way through wishing you could just go home and watch TV.

Take one of my all time favorite singer-songwriter-guitarists, pair him with one of my all time favorite pop vocalists, and have them record some of the greatest songs of the 1970's. What do you get? One of the most unnecessary recordings in history. There is an effort on every one of these songs to duplicate note for note, instrument for instrument, and arrangement for arrangement, the classic originals. They are really talented musicians and do a credible job for the most part, but in every single instance the original is far better, and in a few ("Willin'" in particular), the cover is disastrous. It is clear that these two have great taste. My advice is to find each of these originals and make your own mix disc. It will be awesome.

I totally agree with several fan reviews posted here that Vol. I of this collaboration, which focused on some very interesting song choices from the 1960s, was excellent, but their move into the 70s falls flat. Unlike another reviewer here who thought this album looked great on paper (but was disappointed when he heard it), I didn't. Good God, who would want to hear this very sweet-sounding harmony duo cover unique, un-topable songs like All the Young Dudes and Bell Bottom Blues? Not me. But I gave it a try, and was right -- most of these cover versions do not work. The only song I really like is "Back of the Car," and maybe that's because I am not familiar with the original by Big Star. Their attempts at country rock fare little better. Buy Volume 1, and maybe they will have better luck if they move on to the 1980s. Also buy The Thorns album, on which Mathew Sweet works with a couple of other male singers on a fine album of original, Crosby, Stills & Nash-style songs.

This is another really enjoyable listen. The song selections are interesting and well chosen. The CD is a fine listen in its own right, but also might make one go listen to the originals.

Sweet and Hoffs (as well as all the folks who play on this) are pros and it would be nice if they covered the eighties and nineties.

I enjoyed Volume 1 by these talented musicians, and bought this one hoping for a little more "interpretation" of the tunes. Unfortunately, they stayed SO close to the originals that it just isn't very interesting to listen to repeatedly. Both of them could easily add some additional harmonies or arrangements or even guitar or keyboard solos to add some spice to the tunes. I hope they are willing to experiment more, if they try this idea again. I'll certainly be more cautious about my next purchase. Meanwhile, I'm going back to original versions.

Don't get me wrong -- every song picked on this compilation is a classic beauty. And I loved Under the Covers Volume One -- Sid and Susie breathed life into those '60's gems and picked some obscure ones that really shine. But Volume two sounds like a karaoke version of these songs. Susanna says she taught herself to sing by singing along to the radio -- it sounds like she's still doing it here. Back of My Car, Couldn't I Just Tell You and Go all the Way -- all power pop classics shine brilliantly as they well should with Matthew Sweet. Pop Susanna just can't seem to sing the blues on Bell Bottom Blues which lacks real emotion. And George Harrison's gorgeous Beware of Darkness lacks the depth and haunting lyricism of the original, despite Dhani Harrison's guitar playing. The rest sounds karaoke. The Bangles were always well known for choosing obsure songs (like "Live") and making them their own by making them better than the originals. Not true here with Susanna. I suggest downloading the original versions of these songs. On UTC Volume 2 Download: Maggie May, Back of a Car, Go All the Way, Couldn't I Just Tell You - the best tracks here. Funny that the best versions don't appear on the album but on bonus tracks, download-able here on amazon. These include Badfinger's Baby Blue, You Can Close Your Eyes (Sue sings beautifully here -- better than Sheryl Crow's version) and The Buzzcock's You Say You Don't Love Me and QUeen's Killer Queen.