Under The Covers: Vol. 2

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: July 21, 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Shout! Factory
• Copyright: (P) 2009 Shout! Factory LLC, 2042-A Armacost Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025. All Rights Reserved.
• Genres:
• ASIN: B002FX0J2Y
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,410 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Affectionate, Beautiful Covers, August 2, 2009

By 

Thomas E. Davis (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Under The Covers: Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

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)

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good collection of fairly faithful covers, July 22, 2009

By 

Clyde Spicer (Alva, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Under The Covers: Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sublime Love Song to the 70's, September 13, 2009

By 

Alan Taylor "Music Addict, Pop Culture Guru, ... (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Under The Covers: Vol. 2 (MP3 Download)

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!