SOUNDTRACK: MATTHEW SWEET-Inside (1986) & Earth (1989).
I think of Matthew Sweet as one of the quintessentially 90s musicians. He had a few pretty big hits during the 90s, and seemed to be on every compilation that came out. So, imagine what the quintessentially 90s guy sounds like in the 80s.
Inside is so so keyboard heavy, it could be ANY synth band from the 80s. And, the keyboards are so loud in the mix that Sweet’s voice, which is not very powerful to begin with is almost totally lost. Sweet’s voice is not even that powerful on his 90s records. He has a very delightful, but very soft, voice. So, you can barely tell much about the songs, because it seems that every one has synth horns or whatnot masking what’s really happening.
Earth falls in line of what you think the Matthew Sweet sound is. It’s still pretty heavy on the synth, but you can see the song structures that Sweet perfected in the 90s. There’s nothing really striking on Earth, but it’s a good bridge to his 90s albums.
On both of these records it’s interesting to see who he gets to guest on them. Aimee Mann sings along with him on Inside. And Lloyd Cole joins Sweet on Earth. Sweet used to play with Lloyd Cole before going solo, so that makes sense. He was just so unknown at the time, its amazing he was able to get any collaborators.
Such a great name for a greatest hits album. I’m delighted to know that Primus is still fun after all these years. How on earth they were every popular is simply beyond my comprehension.
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