Reviews
 Keep It Simple
Van Morrison
Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008
Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
Another Country
Tift Merritt
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward
Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)
Juno – Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Yes - Their Definitive Story
Day and Night Driving
Seven Mary Three
InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY
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Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs
Matthew Sweet teaming up with Susanna Hoffs for an album of cover songs from the ‘60s? It sounds like an interesting proposition, and the results are pretty much what I would expect; well arranged and faithful versions of some great classic and/or obscure songs from the greatest era of pop music. Both Sweet and Hoffs proved their chops in the ‘80s as contemporary pop purveyors - Sweet as a solo act, and Hoffs as the lead vocalist of the Bangles - and they utilize their expertise well as a musical couple. The song selections are sometimes obvious (“Monday Monday”, “Different Drum”) and sometimes obscure (“Care of Cell #44” is a great Zombies tune from ‘Odessey and Oracle’, and “She May Call You Up Tonight” appeared on the same Left Banke album that featured “Walk Away Renee”). Every song has a pleasant sheen about it, and you can hear a combination of joy and respect for each of the songs covered. Unfortunately, nothing here is definitive (with the possible exception of the lead-off track entitled “I See the Rain,” which I don’t recognize), but it is nonetheless a pleasant stroll through a few great songs.
Sweet and Hoffs both have distinctive voices that work well together, but they seem restricted by their desire to remain faithful to the original versions of each song. When they do experiment a bit, though, it seems incongruent. For example, when Hoffs takes some artistic license and adds a few distinctive ‘aahs’ to “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” it ends up sounding too much like the Bangles. Sweet’s voice doesn’t cause me to bristle, but his guitar work sometimes does. “Cinnamon Girl” needs Neil Young’s straightforward lead guitar part. It isn’t an option, so his ‘additions’ actually subtract from the song’s punch. These minor faults are more than compensated for elsewhere. Hoffs practically channels the spirit of Sandy Denny on “Who Knows Where the Time Goes,” and their arrangement of ‘Care of Cell #44” sounds almost as lovely as the original, plus it benefits nicely from the gender change.
Other highlights include faithful runs through classic songs by the Beatles (“And Your Bird Can Sing”), the Who (“The Kids Are Alright”), The Velvet Underground (“Sunday Morning”), and even the Bee Gees (the gorgeous and semi-forgotten “Run To Me”). The latter song ends the CD and actually dates from the ‘70s, so maybe it’s a precursor for a follow-up that features the next decade? After all, the album title does say “Vol. 1”. Personally, I’d welcome it. Let them tackle a few classic ‘70s hits, and then who knows? Maybe they’ll even re-address some of their own material from the ‘80s!
Grade: 
 
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