Rolling Stone, April 15, 1999
By Blair R. Fischer, Heidi Sherman, Richard Skanse, Jaan Shelszki
[Excerpt] Matthew Sweet will begin a new chapter in his recording career when he enters a Los Angeles studio on April 22 with producer Fred Maher (10,000 Maniacs, Information Society), engineer/remixer Jim Scott (Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and session guitarist Greg Leech to begin work on the follow-up to 1997's Blue Sky on Mars. The release will mark his first for the Jive Records and Q Prime-owned Volcano Records, which previously operated in conjunction with now-defunct Zoo Entertainment. Sweet will likely spend six weeks in the studio and even engage in a "super session with multiple keyboards, bass and drums to create a Phil Spector wall of sound," according to manager Russell Carter. For the sessions, Sweet will likely record half of the forty songs he's written since Blue Sky was released, says Carter. The album will hit shelves some time this fall . . .
New York Times Magazine, May 23, 1999
By Amy Spindler
[Excerpt] Matthew Sweet, the rock star, and his wife, Lisa, who works in fashion, collect Big and Sad-Eyed paintings of all kinds. Keane is their favorite, but they also collect Abruzzi, Bollini, Jean Calogero, Gig (known for his Keane eyes on animals),Igor (whom John Waters also collects) and Ozz Franca (one of whose paintings they bought right off the wall at Matteo's -- a gift from Frank Sinatra to the restaurant's owner). "In the beginning we thought they were weird and cool and kind of scary," Sweet said of Keane. "But as we looked at them and heard more about them, we fell in love with them. Something emotional is happening in them, which is why they make people uncomfortable." Their favorite Big and Sad-Eyed Web sites: megan@besmirched. com, and their own, http://members.tripod.com/ozz_manor/index.html.
Lisa's pendant, $100, is from the Keane Eyes Gallery in San Francisco. Cuff links are $200.
Rolling Stone, June 4, 1999
Huge musical ensemble helps Matthew Sweet on new album
By Blair R. Fischer
A little bit of chaos never killed anyone -- at least, that's the way Matthew Sweet sees it. The power-pop singer/songwriter doesn't seem the least perturbed about his latest go-round with industry flux that left him without a parent record company following the release of 1997's Blue Sky on Mars.
"Our biggest problem with the whole thing all along was just we didn't know when we'd really have it together where there was a label, and I just didn't wanna wait forever," says Sweet. Fortunately he didn't, and Sweet will continue to record for Volcano, now parented by Jive and distributed by BMG. Previously Sweet was part of the now-defunct Zoo Entertainment family.
Today, Sweet is a week or so away from beginning the mixing stage on his seventh, still-untitled record. For the album, the singer is using what he refers to as his "dream team" of producers: Jim Scott (Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Fred Mahar (10,000 Maniacs, Information Society) and Greg Liesz, a longtime Sweet collaborator. "I started putting together [a list of] all my favorite people for certain things, and kind of put them together as this team," says Sweet.
For the album, Sweet has employed what he deems a Phil Spector-esque method of recording, using large ensembles of musicians in a live setting to create a "raw, primal kind of record." "It's not really slick in a modern record kind of way," he says. "It's not really old fashioned because it's big and fat and kind of direct, but it's been a really fun record to make and I have a good feeling about it."
For five songs - including a currently untitled nine-minute opus - up to fifteen musicians gathered in a Los Angeles studio to record at one time. "In terms of the commercial world and singles and everything," Sweet explains, "I kind of thought if I could take songs and somehow record them in a way that was more dramatic than just making them a soft ballad, then maybe those songs would stand a chance of going out and getting heard more." At one time it wasn't uncommon for two drummers, four keyboardists, two bassists and several guitarists to play simultaneously, but Sweet is quick to point out that "you don't really hear the individual instruments that much, instead you get this kind of aura."
One time, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson came by to listen to a rough mix of the Spector-ish "I Should Never Have Let You Know." "He stayed the whole time, stood up at the end and said, 'I love it. I f---ing love it,' which we thought was great. It was kind of like a golden moment for everybody. It's not often you have a classic, genius legend sit and listen to something you did."
Sweet expects the album will include fourteen songs ("I guess I'm hoping so, because everyone complains to me the last one was too short," he says) and be out some time this fall.
Sonicnet, July 22, 1999
Singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet will release his seventh studio album, In Reverse, Sept. 28. The 14-track album from the power-pop performer features several songs inspired by producer Phil Spector's famed "wall of sound" recording technique. The album was co-produced by Sweet and musician Greg Liesz (Fiona Apple) as well as Fred Maher (R.E.M.) and Jim Scott (Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Iha). The track listing for In Reverse is: "Millennium Blues," "If Time Permits," "Beware My Love," "Faith in You," " Hide," "Future Shock," "Split Personality," "I Should Never Have Let You Know," "Trade Places," "What Matters," "Write Your Own Song," "Worse to Live," "Untitled," and "Thunderstorm."
Billboard, October 16, 1999
By Chuck Taylor
Matthew Sweet was around near the beginning of modern rock as we know it today and still sounds as fresh and vital as his early musings way back when. This boppy, cleverly produced track is perhaps his most credible bid for crossover success ever. It's as joyous and hooky as anything out there, and with Sweet's history; modern rock and top 40 should take it to heart with compassion (read: instant phones). From the opening notes to the final chorus, Sweet sounds inspired and happy to be here. So will listeners the first time they get a load of this no-holds-barred hit. Welcome this with open arms. And skip the radio edit; soak up every second of the extended 4:13 album version. From his latest, In Reverse, due Oct. 12.
Sonicnet, October 20, 1999
On new album, singer/songwriter aims to create sense of disorientation
By Teri vanHorn, Staff Writer
In the two years since releasing Blue Sky on Mars, singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet found that having a lot of time to think can get you thinking ... about time.
That record had been, in his words, a "huge failure for me," so Sweet re-examined his life and wrote songs. Now he hopes that the result, his just released In Reverse, feels a bit like a time warp.
"I really wanted the record to have that feeling that time can have, of being sort of disorienting, like you don't realize where it all went," Sweet said from his Los Angeles home Monday. "You have all these feelings from different times in your life, and you can come back to them ... or they come rushing back."
Sweet even carries that disorienting vibe to the album's CD jacket, which is printed upside down, with the track list appearing in a different order than on the disc.
In Reverse kicks off with "Millennium Blues," which finds Sweet reflecting on being halfway through his life when the millennium hits. On it, he sings, "Lived half in one and half in the other."
"I always knew when I was a kid that in the year 2000 I would be 35 and wondered what that would be like," Sweet said. He said he considered changing the title, fearing that millennium themes have become a bit hackneyed, but ultimately decided to stick with it. "I thought it would be more tolerable, because it was rooted in the anxiety of time passing by, rather than, 'Woo, it's the millennium, let's party.' "
Sweet's time theme bleeds over into the next tune, the catchy pop number "If Time Permits," and it creeps up elsewhere on such tracks as "Future Shock."
The album, which Sweet produced with Jim Scott, Fred Maher, and Greg Leisz, also does some time traveling sonically. Sweet recorded four of the songs live in an experiment inspired by veteran producer Phil Spector's famed "wall of sound" recording technique. During a two-day period at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, Sweet worked with a large group of musicians that included bass player Carol Kaye, who played on the Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds album. Also on hand were Ric Menck and Maher on dual drum kits and Tony Marsico on stand-up bass.
Sweet said he decided to try out the Spector approach after recording a batch of multitracked demos, in which he doubled up his instruments and gorged on reverb. "I had a Phil Spector best-of boxed set that I was really liking, and I've always liked those AM oldies-radio hits — [the Righteous Brothers'] 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' ' and 'Unchained Melody' and those kind of really dramatic Spector productions," he said.
Candace Stewart, manager at Cello Studios, remembers "a really positive creative vibe" coming from the studio during the sessions. "They turned it into a party," she said, adding that Sweet and Scott brought decorations. "Whenever Matthew comes in, he brings his environment with him — his lava lamps, his '60s art, his velvet paintings," Stewart said. Scott, meanwhile, contributed his "hippie tapestries" and Christmas lights.
Sweet first emerged as a leader in the revival of power pop with his third album, Girlfriend (1991). He achieved his greatest commercial success to date with 100% Fun (1995), which featured the modern-rock hit "Sick of Myself."
Sweet demoed much of the material for In Reverse on his own before hitting the studio. He said the trippy, ominous vibe of "Beware My Love" dictated some of the album's sonic direction because it was the first song he recorded for the disc in the studio. "I wanted the album to be psychedelic in an organic way," he said.
The album closes with the epic "Thunderstorm," the result of Sweet's patching together four songs into a brief opera of sorts. Though at first he wasn't convinced that the idea would work, Sweet said the song came together much more easily than he had anticipated, as all of the tunes were written in the same key and shared common references to nature.
"It was like it was preordained or something," Sweet said. "It kind of magically worked."
Anita Sharifi, a 26-year-old fan from Burke, Va., called the album "a big experiment that succeeds on many levels," as Sweet embraces his '60s pop tendencies. "I think it's his masterpiece - his Pet Sounds," she wrote in an e-mail. "Matthew Sweet is a musician who has evolved and sharpened his craft. He's not afraid to take risks."
"For me, it's his voice that marks this one as a classic," she continued. "He's found the perfect accompaniment to his voice - his voice. He layers the vocals and crafts delicious melodies around them. It's infectiously good."
San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 1999
By David Wiegand
For some, Matthew Sweet is all too aptly named. As a leading figure in the
post-punk, power-pop niche, the Nebraska-born singer- songwriter just isn't
miserable enough for some folks. But they're heavily outvoted by the legions
of listeners who first discovered Sweet in the '80s, when he emerged as
a solo artist as well as contributing his slick guitar styles to Oh-OK and
Lloyd Cole. His first two albums, Inside and Earth, earned
a ripple of attention, but his breakthrough came with his 1991 album, Girlfriend,
which, for many, remains his best work to date. He's now touring to
support his latest release, In Reverse, his first CD on the Volcano
label. Among the 14 Sweet-penned tunes is a timely recognition of beginnings
and endings,
"Millennium Blues." Like so many of his songs, Sweet is able to
both personalize the impending big flip of the calendar and make it universal.
MATTHEW SWEET, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Slim's, 333 11th St., San Francisco, tickets
$15 in advance, $17 at the door, (415) 255-0333.
Guitar Player, January 2000
By David Simons
After helping popularize the reverb-less mixes with the dry, in-your-face punch of Girlfriend in 1991, Matthew Sweet has come full circle with In Reverse - a multi-textured celebration of ambience that recalls Phil Spector's '60s Wall of Sound productions. The adventure began during the demo process for In Reverse, when Sweet cooked up more than 100 songs on a Pro Tools system and went crazy with overdubs.
"I multitracked a lot," he says. "I layered at least five guitars on everything, with each guitar playing the same thing. That got me thinking about those Spector records - which are really just a lot of people playing live, banging out the same chords, and creating this otherworldly sound. Right then, I realized how I wanted to make In Reverse."
To capture the sound of Spector's "teenage symphonies," Sweet copped the producer's modus operandi. The basic tracks for "If Time Permits," "I Should Never Have Let You Know," "Worse To Live," and "Thunderstorm" were recorded in L.A.'s Cello Studios with a 17-piece band: two electric guitarists, three acoustic guitarists, two bassists (including legendary '60s and '70s session ace Carol Kaye), three keyboardists, two drummers, two percussionists, two horn players, and a theremin player. (Sweet switched between guitar and piano). The mics were placed, the players let rip, and everything was fed into Cello's ancient echo chamber - the same chamber that added the lush, natural reverb to some of Brian Wilson's classic Beach Boys tracks.
"We didn't get as crazy with the reverb soup as Spector did," says Sweet, who co-produced In Reverse with session guitarist Greg Leisz, drummer Fred Maher, and engineer Jim Scott. "But I think the attitude is there. I really wanted to do some songs that were ballad-like and try to create that Spector-esque sense of drama. And I wanted to work with a large group and track live with a bunch of musicians getting excited about playing off each other. I mean, after all the drum machines and programmed music, the impact of live humans screwing up is largely forgotten these days. The barometer for whether we got the Spector vibe was Carol Kaye - who played on his sessions. She would listen to our tracks, get emotional, and say, 'I never thought I'd hear that sound again.'"
To add a touch of psychedelia to his West Coast rock orchestrations, Sweet recorded a number of backwards guitar parts by turning the analog tape reels upside down and tracking with the tape running in reverse. He also ran his Gretch Country Gentleman through Leslie cabinets and plugged into a Z. Vex Fuzz Factory and Super Hard-On. "Those Z. Vex units have this creepy quality that I'm attracted to," he says. Sweet's main amp was a Vox AC30, but for authenticity he played the Kinks-style descending riff of "Split Personality" through a 10-watt Elpico - the same little green amp that Dave Davies brutalized on early Kinks records.
Reconstructing '60s pop sounds, working with a big band, recording live, and making sure everything was relevant to the '90s was some chore. All the attention to detail paid off, however, when a famous face appeared at the control-room door. "Brian Wilson had been working on some stuff next door, and he just showed up one day," says Sweet. "We played 'I Should Never Have Let You Know' for him, but I had to leave for a while because I was too nervous. When I came back in, he stood up really fast and said, 'I love it! I love it!' Now that was some reward."
Sweet Things
GUITARS: '67 Epiphone Casino, Fender Jazzmaster, '67 Gibson SG, reissue Gretsch Country Gentleman, Hofner 12-string, Rickenbacker 360/12C64.
AMPS: Vox AC30, vintage Elpico
EFFECTS: AKG BX-10 reverb, Snarling Dogs Erongenous Moan, Boomerang phrase sampler, Way Huge Swollen Pickle, and Z. Vex Fuzz Factory and Super Hard-On.
Entertainment Weekly, January 14, 2000
By Tom Sinclair
You don't have to wait until summer to feast on a Lollapalooza-style smorgasbord of bands - just light out for Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival, where the ratio of musicians to filmmakers can feel like 1:1. In the past years, Joan Osborne, Blondie, and Slash have shown up, and you never know who'll be jamming at the countless parties. This year's shindig (Jan. 20-30) features John Popper, Third Eye Blind, Matthew Sweet, the Verve Pipe, and Air, among others. ASCAP and BMG are organizing showcases (no doubt to facilitate partnerships between filmmakers and musicicians who dabble in scores and soundtracks). "If it can further the work that directors and composers do together," says Sundance codirector Nicole Guillemet, "so much the better." And who's the edgiest musicican on tap? "Johnny Rotten will be there for the premiere of the Sex Pistols doc, The Filth and the Fury," says Sundance's R.J. Millard, "but we don't know whether he'll be playing or not." Oh, bollocks.
Billboard, April 8, 2000
By Chuck Taylor
The ever-prolific Matthew Sweet follows up his tasty "What Matters" with a bona fide ballad-some surprise, huh? This bold, pop-driven number oozes cool, with a relaxed vocal, simple lyric of knowing better than a reluctant lover what's better for her, and production that walks the line between the best of retro British pop and '70s-bred roots music. In all, it's an atmospheric little number that does everything it sets out to do in the space of under three minutes, and it could turn out to be a crisp radio favorite for modern rockers and adult top 40s to usher in the transition from the cold, gray days of winter to the newness of a fresh season. From the album In Reverse.