Catch your breath (Matthew Sweet) (LP 4026 - 4037)

Matthew Sweet  Inside (CD, Columbia Records, 1986) ** 

Matthew Sweet  Earth (CD, A&M Records, 1989) *** 

Matthew Sweet  Girlfriend (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1991) ***** 

Matthew Sweet  Altered Beast (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1993) *** 

Matthew Sweet  Son of Altered Beast (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1994) **** 

Matthew Sweet  100% Fun (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1995) **** 

Matthew Sweet  Blue Sky on Mars (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1997) ****

Matthew Sweet  In Reverse (CD, Zoo Entertainment Records, 1999) **** 

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs  Under the Covers Vol. 1 (CD, Shout! Factory Records, 2006) ***

Matthew Sweet  Sunshine Lies (CD, Shout! Factory Records, 2008) **** 

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs  Under the Covers Vol. 2 (CD, Shout! Factory Records, 2009) ***

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs  Under the Covers Vol. 3 (CD, Shout! Factory Records, 2013) ***

Genre: Pop, rock

Places I remember: Amoeba Music, Kings Recording, Virgin Megastore, HMV, Fopp, JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records. Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Girlfriend

Gear costume: Evangeline (Girlfriend), Sick of Myself  (100% Fun), Different Drum (Under the Covers Vol. 1)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Inside, his debut, has a few good songs and Matthew Sweet is on the cusp of sounding like himself. Unfortunately, the dreaded eighties production ticks are all present and they affect the enjoyment of the songs. We're talking sequencers, MIDI synths, chorused guitars, creamy smooth backing vocals, programmed drums. All yuck!

Earth is better thanks to the presence of guitarists Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine - their guitars are on the way to replacing the synths (those pesky things are still hanging around). Plus, Matthew's voice is more prevalent in the mix and the songs are catchier. The Beatle-isms are allowed to emerge more too, which is great.

Girlfriend was the big artistic breakthrough. The Revolver era Beatle influences are still there but are now joined by Neil Young influences. Combined, they help create a power-pop tour de force, full of excellent songs that twist and turn in unexpected ways. 

The guitars are cranked up and that triple guitar weapon approach - Sweet, Quine and Lloyd, produce a devastatingly effective sound. Add in the frenetic drums by Ric Menck and Fred Maher and it's a beast. 

Speaking of beasts - his next album is Altered Beast. I find it muddled after the coherence of Girlfriend. The guitars in particular seem to be bolted on and the songs are buried where on Girlfriend they were varied and well presented. No songs stand out for me on Altered Beast.

Son of Altered Beast is a mini-album (E.P. in old money). The standout for me is the cover of Neil Young's Don't Cry No Tears. The live versions of some of the Altered Beast songs are better than the ones that appeared on that album. They are less muddled, more confident and more muscular in appearance.

Ultrasuede is an outtake from the sessions and should have been included really - it's catchy and more in the Girlfriend vein. Maybe that's why it didn't make the cut. Overall, I much prefer the more succinct Son of Altered Beast.

His fifth proper album is 100% Fun. Lead off song is Sick of Myself complete with pop hooks and some wicked guitar wig outs.

There are four guitarists employed to great effect on 100% Fun: Sweet; Robert Quine; Richard Lloyd; and Brendan O'Brien, who also produces. All those guitars provide some high-octane power-pop with catchy hooks. The follow up, Blue Sky on Mars would be recorded without Lloyd and Quine which affected the sound a bit.

Roger Dean provides the iconic touch to the album's lettering, and Matthew Sweet again provides a really good set of power-pop friendly songs. The manic edge that was previously provided by Richard Lloyd in particular may be missing but I still love this album as much as 100% Fun and Girlfriend.

In Reverse is his seventh album and it continued the rich vein of form from 100% Fun onwards. Again, it wasn't commercially successful though and I just don't get that. 

How come bands like Raspberries, Badfinger, Big Star produce excellent power pop albums that reach a comparatively small niche market and bands like Blondie, Cheap Trick are mega successful? It's an unjust universe.

In Reverse is another brilliant set of songs. The AllMusic critic nailed the influences and intent: 'In Reverse takes a different approach, borrowing elements from Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, the Beatles, and Electric Light Orchestra to create a seductive ocean of sound. Vocals, guitars, and pianos are given cavernous reverb, surrounded by grand percussion, backward guitars, and brass'. I wouldn't know 'cavernous reverb' if I heard it, but I like the idea of it. 

I have not collected all of his albums, so we miss out a couple (Kimi Ga Suki and Living Things) before his next project - an album of covers in collaboration with Susanna Hoffs. Hoffs was previously in The Bangles - a very commercially successful power-pop band.

The title Vol. 1 suggests that this was going to be an on-going project for them both.  Vol. 1 contains 15 cover versions of songs from the 1960s. 

All the major bases are covered - each one providing an insight into the pair's inspirations. So, of course, there's a mix of The Beatles (And Your Bird Can Sing), Bob Dylan (It's All Over Now, Baby Blue), The Beach Boys (The Warmth of the Sun), The Who (The Kids Are Alright), the Mamas & the Papas (Monday, Monday), and Neil Young gets a couple (Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere). 

Highlight apart from Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl is a brilliant Different Drum.

Sunshine Lies benefits from Susanna's appearance and the sunny pop sounds they'd carried on from the covers' album. Richard Lloyd also features on a couple of tracks (as he did on the covers' album). I don't think Sweet's standards have dropped at all since Girlfriend - this album is another triumph for guitar driven pop music.

The Under the Covers project returned for Vol. 2 in 2009 with 16 more power pop classics. Susanna and Matthew have a great chemistry - their voices blend so well and they are both very versatile, so they can cover a range of styles within the parameters of seventies pop.

This time out The Grateful Dead (Sugar Magnolia), Mott the Hoople (All the Young Dudes), Carly Simon (You're So Vain), Yes (I've Seen All Good People), Rob Stewart (Maggie May - a highlight) are joined by The Raspberries, Big Star and a couple by Todd Rundgren. 

Highlight apart from Maggie May is Susanna's take on Willin'.

I've kind of lost touch with Sweet's solo album career post Sunshine Lies. There have been five further albums issued and I've yet to see them in stores. I did manage to find Vol. 3 of Under the Covers. This third edition concentrates on 14 eighties songs - highlights being They Don't Know and Our Lips Are Sealed.

Where do they all belong? A few albums to keep my eyes peeled for but I feel like I've probably got enough really.