What's Up Matador

Various Artists | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: August 26, 1997
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Matador
• Copyright: 1997 Matador Records
• Total Length: 2:35:35
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0011UODB0
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,302 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What else do you expect?..., March 27, 2001

By 

Chris (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What's Up Matador (Audio CD)

It's a MATADOR compilation. Since the label is immune to signing bad bands, you won't find a bad track on this disc.

An excellent sampler, but works just as well as an album. If you prefer to have your sounds mixed, you'll love the variety of this album.

Particularly good?: GBV, Pavement, Pizzicato 5, Chavez, Helium, and Yo La Tengo(as usual).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I WASN'T DUMB BUT I WAS SO NAIVE..., October 15, 2000

By 

EriKa "E" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What's Up Matador (Audio CD)

What an amazing collection! I bought it because I wanted to have Liz Phair's stunning and fun "Stuck on an Island"... for me, the bargain price was worth it just for her! But the rest of this 2 CD collection is stellar! Yo La Tengo is a consistent favourite, Pavement's super cool version of Echo and the Bunnymen's "Killing Moon" is exquisite, the Pizzicato 5 tracks are **SO FUN** (especially the cute "Happy Birthday"), and Cat Power is always a subtle and subdued hue of brilliant ("Nude as the News" is one of her louder songs and is also just... breathtaking)! Other treats here: Teenage Fanclub, the much overlooked Bailter Space, The Fall and Guided by Voices. Nothing bad about this collection... and if you are lucky you will find something new to love! There is definitely enough variety here to please everyone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's up?, September 19, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What's Up Matador (Audio CD)

Matador Records is known for its selection of outstanding musical artists -- the bands that are/were signed to them range from indie-rock legends to obscure gems.

"What's Up Matador" is a good compilation of some of Matador's highlights -- it's not only a good cross-section of the best and most timeless work here, but also a fun listen, and a good introduction to some good music. It's missing a few of the best and bravest, but is still an excellent place to start on some cool indie-rock.

Several indie-rock staples were signed onto Matador over the years, and they are given places of honor: the gone-but-never-forgotten Pavement, excellent Guided by Voices and Spoon, as well as other outstanding bands like The Fall, Cat Power, Superchunk and Yo La Tengo. Often these bands get more than one song.

But Matador also gives the spotlight to lesser known bands and artists. For example, the quirky Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. Also present are the rough-edged rock of Silkworm and Railroad Jerk, a couple of songs by Liz Phair before she went teeny-pop, the trembling lo-fi of Helium, the energetic pop of Bettie Serveert, and the aggressively weird Mecca Normal.

Okay, sprinkled here and there are a few duds. I have to admit that Chavez is not my favorite -- I can only take a few explosive chords at a time, unless Billy Corgan is playing them. And there are a few glaring omissions -- where are Nightmares on Wax, Solex, Sleator-Kinney?

Fortunately, those omissions are compensated for by the excellent -- sometimes ingenious -- music that surrounds them on all sides. Pop, electronica, rock -- it's all here. Matador plays it safe with some of the songs, such as Pavement and Teenage Fanclub, but also plays risky by including so many songs by little-known bands.

Like the other Matador compilations, "What's Up Matador" is a good place to start on the voyage of indie rock bliss. Smooth sailing.