Under The Covers, Volume 2 - Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs

[johnfoyle]

http://www.myspace.com/sidnsusie

MATTHEW SWEET AND SUSANNA HOFFS GET GROOVY ON NEW DUETS ALBUM FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

Under the Covers Vol. 1

New ‘60s Pop Primer CD Features 15 Hand-Picked Favorites From The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Zombies, The Who, Neil Young, And More – In Stores April 18th

LOS ANGELES, CA – Two of pop music’s darlings – Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles - have joined voices in celebration of one of the most important eras in pop music. Featuring 15 of the duo’s favorite pop tunes from the 1960s, Under The Covers Vol. 1 combines popular hits and obscure gems from such important names in music as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Who, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, The Zombies, The Mama’s And The Papas, The Left Banke, The Bee Gees, The Marmalade, Fairport Convention, Love, The Stone Poneys, and The Velvet Underground. Sweet and Hoffs, each with a stunning and highly distinguishable voice of their own, mingle melodies and tones for new, unique harmonies that truly reflect the sounds of the time. Shout! Factory will release Under The Covers Vol. 1 on April 18th

Matthew “Sid” Sweet and Susanna “Susie” Hoffs have always been fans of each other’s work, performing guest vocals at each others concerts a few times throughout the years, and collaborating with comedian Mike Myers as members of Austin Powers’ on-screen band Ming Tea in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Now Sweet and Hoffs explore a classic era of pop music together for the first time, on Under The Covers. The down to earth feel of the record reflects the ease of the sessions; recorded entirely at Sweet’s home facility, Lolina Green, the work was a true labor of love, done, as they both put it, “purely for the fun of it!” The newly formed duo wanted to start with a few of their favorite, though lesser known tracks: “She May Call You Up Tonight” by ‘60s baroque rock band The Left Banke, “The Warmth Of The Sun” by The Beach Boys, and the melancholy ballad “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, among others. They also threw in a few more well-known songs from the era; Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl,” Pete Townsend’s “The Kids Are Alright,” and John Phillips’ “Monday, Monday” were on the short list. Sweet and Hoffs, both Lou Reed fans, also added “Sunday Morning” from The Velvet Underground & Nico. Of course no ’60 music collection would be complete without a selection from The Beatles, so the Sweet/Hoffs consensus was “And Your Bird Can Sing” from Revolver. And, one exception to the rule requires mentioning; the Bee Gee’s “Run To Me,” actually came out in 1971.

A ‘60s pop primer of sorts, Under The Covers Vol. 1’s 15 songs span a wide range of genres – from rock to folk to pop – but all have that unmistakable ‘60s vibe. It’s obvious that Sweet and Hoffs have put their own stamp on these covers, individually and collectively, but have done so with a sense of respect and admiration for the original versions and composers. On Under The Covers Vol. 1 Sweet and Hoffs pay homage to arguably the most important decade in pop music by inserting their own musical personalities and unique harmonies for a fresh and new sound. Dig it.

MANAGEMENT:

Russell Carter Artist Management
315 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue
Suite 755
Decatur, Georgia 30030
http://www.myspace.com/rcam

PUBLICITY:

Stacey Studebaker
(310) 979-5602
sstudebaker@shoutfactory.com

MATTHEW SWEET & SUSANNA HOFFS: UNDER THE COVERS VOL. 1
Catalog Number: DK 97654
Release date: April 18, 2006

TRACK LISTING

1. I See The Rain (The Marmalade)
2. And Your Bird Can Sing (The Beatles)
3. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan)
4. Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (Fairport Convention)
5. Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young And Crazy Horse)
6. Alone Again Or (Love)
7. Warmth Of The Sun (The Beach Boys)
8. Different Drum (The Stone Poneys)
9. The Kids Are Alright (The Who)
10. Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground)
11. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young And Crazy Horse)
12. Care Of Cell ..44 (The Zombies)
13. Monday Monday (The Mamas And The Papas)
14. She May Call You Up Tonight (The Left Banke)
15. Run To Me (The Bee Gees)

[Mike Boom]

Nice song selection - this should be good.

[guidedbyvoices]

among a ton of other bands, I saw Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs twice at SXSW. The free day show was good but short, and they were so good we had to see them again. Got right on top of the stage, 2 feet from Sweet. He's really packed on the pounds. Hoffs looks amazing and is about 4 foot 3. Tight band - Rick Menck on drums, both Hoffs & Sweet played guitar, plus a lead guitarist and a gtr/organ guy, so really thick sound with strong harmonies. Everything was fantastic. Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Different Drum, And Your Bird (cool to watch Sweet and the other guitarist play that solo right next to each other, doubling up but on different parts of the neck), Run To Me, I See The Rain (great song from Nuggets), a loud Kids Are Alright, It's All Over Now Baby Blue (enjoyable, but doesn't match Them's version let alone Dylan's).

[pophead2k]

Can't wait for this album. Matthew's always thrown cool covers into his sets- once saw him do "Moonage Daydream" that had my jaw on the ground.

[ice nine]

I have 100% Fun. Where should I go next?

[Marxbro]

I'm glad there's finally some new Sweet but how about an original album and not a covers record? I liked The Thorns record but what's the deal with MS not putting out an MS record?

[pophead2k]

As for where to go next with MS: Girlfriend, or at the other end, In Reverse (a criminally overlooked album, recorded with some classic studio folks and done 'live' in the studio with lots of stuff going on a la EC's The Other Side of Summer). In the last couple of years, Matthews released Kim Gi Oh and the excellent Living Things. Check 'em out if you haven't.

[noiseradio]

I agree. Girlfriend would be a great place to go after 100% Fun. And Kim Gi Oh is awesome. If I have things straight, Van Dyke Parks (who wrote the lyrics for The Beach Boys' Smile) worked with Matthew Sweet on some or all of that record. And it shows. (I might be thinking of Living Things; I get the two mixed up sometimes, and I don't have either album in front of me).

If you really like those, I'd also recommend Altered Beast. It's not as accessible as the others, but as a whole it's more rewarding IMHO.

[El Vez]

That's all well and good but does he have a record called Snakes On A Plane?

Sorry, I've had that movie title on my brain all week. Damn you, Sam Jackson! Please continue with your regularly scheduled Matthew Sweet discussion.

[guidedbyvoices]

Girlfriend is a must, one of the best records of the 90s. Altered Beast may not be great the whole way through but has a few amazing song, esp Someone To Pull The Trigger and Time Capsule.

i'm still buzzing from seeing him this weekend. Girlfriend was a huge record for me, since I saw the video for Girlfriend on 120 Minutes. To be right in front of the guy as he's singing And Your Bird Can Sing lte alone play that riff, fuck it was great. I can't wait for this covers album to come out, just hope it captures this sound and not watered down a little.

[pophead2k]

One great thing about Matthew's albums is that the guitar sound is always mighty- whether it is acoustic or electric. And 'Someone to Pull the Trigger' is one of the greatest, most depressing rock and roll songs ever written.

[pophead2k]

WARNING: If currently depressed, read no further. Amazing how catchy this number is too. Oh yeah, this track features one Mr. P. Thomas on drums.

Someone to Pull the Trigger by Matthew Sweet

Well I'm loaded and ready
Calmly holding steady
Looking for a sign to show me when
Well I'm waiting and willing
The clarity is chilling
But I'm not turning back
and neither can you

I need someone to pull the trigger
'Cause there's a hole in my heart getting bigger
And everything I'll ever be I've been
And I need someone to pull the trigger
So if you're what I think you'll be
If you're who I think I see -- shoot

So hold me and love me
Tie me up and drug me
'Cause I'm not gonna beg you for my life

I need someone to pull the trigger
'Cause there's a hole in my heart getting bigger
And everything I'll ever be I've been
And I need someone to pull the trigger
So if you're what I think you'll be
If you're who I think I see -- shoot

[invisible Pole]

This is from Billboard.com :
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/art ... 1002312693

Matthew Sweet's 1991 breakthrough album, "Girlfriend," will be reissued in an expanded edition June 13 via Volcano/Legacy. The new version boasts a second disc dubbed "Goodfriend," featuring demos, live tracks and radio sessions from the era.

Among them are acoustic takes on album opener "Divine Intervention," "Winona" and John Lennon's "Isolation," a 1992 BBC session version of the title cut and "Someone To Pull the Trigger" and live renditions of "Thought I Knew You," "Does She Talk" and Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer." The studio album is appended with demos for "Good Friend," "Teenage Female" and "Superdeformed" originally released on the Japanese version of the set.

[Mike Boom]

Got this yesterday and its great. Hoffs has a rather bland voice to me though she does a great rendition of Different Drum, but his voice offsets its well and they sound good together. Nice versions of the Kids Are Allright and Sunday Morning. Great fun to listen to.

[guidedbyvoices]

I listened to a copy yesterday, and was a little disappointed at some songs sounding a bit sterile (I tihnk due to the double tracking of the vocals), and some songs, if you know the original, just can't live up to it (Care of Cell 44). That said, She May Call You Up Tonight, wow....

[johnfoyle]

Great interview here -

http://www.bullz-eye.com/music/intervie ... _hoffs.htm



( EXTRACT)

BE: (Hesitates) Welllllll…okay, I can kill three minutes! Um, and, actually, this is something I was going to ask earlier about Doll Revolution, anyway: how did you come to have Elvis (Costello) write the title track for you? Or did it just land in your laps?

SH: It landed in our laps, yeah. One day, I got this call on my cell phone, and it was from T-Bone Burnett, and somehow he had my number, and he was trying to get me in touch with Elvis, because he was working with Elvis, and…well, it’s such a long story, but the short version of it is that Elvis had an idea for a TV show, and he’d written the theme song for the show, and he’d been going around and pitching it to people, with him singing, “Tear off your head, it’s a doll revolution,â€

[Who Shot Sam?]

Either she's been taking posture lessons from Diana or she has an especially painful case of hemorrhoids.

[Mike Boom]

The version of "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" is excellent - nothing is ever gonna beat the Fairports version with Sandy Denny singing but this is a very very beautiful and moving tribute,and Hoffs vocal is anything but bland on this.

[johnfoyle]

Another great show I'd love to have been at !

Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006
From: "Cannestra, Sal"
Subject: [MS] Matthew at the Bowery
To: matthew-sweet@robomod.net

A few comments:
I had a lot of fun. Band was very tight, but Matthew and Susanna
seemed a
little under-rehearsed at times (especially Susanna who had apparently
just
come off a short Bangles tour). They did the entire record excluding
"Warmth of the Sun" and "Monday Monday" and threw in a cover of "Rain"
as
well. Encores included a bizarre medley of "Manic Monday" and "I'm
Waiting
for My Man", and "BBC" from the first Austin Powers movie with none
other
than Mike Myers on lead vocals (complete with fake British accent, if
not
full-on Austin attire). They ended with "Girlfriend" which was great,
but
Susanna inexcusably didn't sing a note the entire song!
One of the best parts of living in NYC is getting to catch one-off gigs
like
this. I'm really glad they decided to do the show while in town for
Conan.
I had a blast. Now, if only Matthew will come through again soon.
That
last tour was almost two years ago now!

[johnfoyle]

Can't wait for this -

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Lies-Mat ... 024&sr=1-1


Sunshine Lies
Matthew Sweet

August 26, 2008


Long interview here -

http://www.performingsongwriter.com/pag ... _sweet.cfm

[johnfoyle]

http://www.directcurrentmusic.com/music ... hoffs.html




ON THE RADAR: Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
Monday, April 27, 2009


Call us crazy, call us unbearably retro, but we're still pretty jazzed about Under The Covers, Volume 2 the July 21 followup to the wonderful 2006 album from ex-Bangle Susanna Hoffs and L.A. power/pop songwriter mainstay Matthew Sweet. As with the duo's first collection of remade versions of mostly 70's classic songs, Volume 2 has the bright pop sheen and keen understanding of what made these songs so successful the first time around. The harmonies are stunning, the musicianship impeccable and the choice of songs - from Tom Petty's "Here Come's My Girl" to Little Feat's "Willin'" to Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes" - simply inspired.

For a special treat, Sweet and Hoffs (known as Sid and Susie) recruited guitarists Steve Howe and Lindsay Buckingham to add some signature guitar riffs to their versions of the Yes standard "I've Seen All Good People" and Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News." George Harrison's son Dhani even makes an appearance on the Harrison composition "Beware of Darkness." Full track listing -

Track Listing:
1. Sugar Magnolia (The Grateful Dead)
2. Go All The Way (The Raspberries)
3. Second Hand News (Fleetwood Mac)
4. Bell Bottom Blues (Derek & The Dominoes)
5. All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople)
6. You’re So Vain (Carly Simon)
7. Here Comes My Girl (Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers)
8. I’ve Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People (Yes)
9. Hello It’s Me (Todd Rundgren)
10. Willin’ (Little Feat)
11. Back Of A Car (Big Star)
12. Couldn’t I Just Tell You (Todd Rundgren)
13. Gimme Some Truth (John Lennon)
14. Everything I Own (Bread)
15. Maggie May (Rod Stewart)
16. Beware Of Darkness (George Harrison)

[johnfoyle]

The download version of this has bonus content, including (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding



http://www.amazon.com/Under-The-Covers- ... 9&sr=103-1




http://popdose.com/popdose-interview-matthew-sweet/

(extract)

• Will these additional covers turn up somewhere down the line?

Matthew Sweet I think they should. I mean, it wouldn’t be very hard to finish them. Like I said, there are 10 additional tracks that are going to be iTunes exclusives or something, and those include a Gram Parsons song, “A Song for You,” and they have an amazing James Taylor song sung by Sue with me doing background vocals. It’s called “You Can Close Your Eyes.” It’s really great, and Greg Liesz does the finger-picking. It’s really like a Sue solo thing, it’s so great of her. And then there are all of the new-wavy things I mentioned. There’s “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “You Say You Don’t Love Me,” by the Buzzcocks. You know, I would’ve done XTC, and there were Elvis Costello things that we didn’t end up putting on there. We did a version of “Accidents will Happen.” It’s really cool, and it had a cool vocal, but, again, it just didn’t quite make it. It wasn’t bad. But we have “Peace, Love and Understanding” on the bonus tracks, which sort of hits both Nick Lowe and Elvis.

[BlueChair]

Picked this up today. Enjoying it so far, though maybe not as much as the last one. Definitely more Hoffs-heavy, though I really likes what she does with "Maggie May" and "Bell Bottom Blues." Looking forward to hearing some of these bonus tracks.

[pophead2k]

I also got this yesterday and generally agree with Blue. In fact, 'You're So Vain' has a pretty poor vocal performance IMHO, but a lot of it sounds fantastic.

[BlueChair]

I also love that they got Lindsey Buckingham to play on "Second Hand News" and Steve Howe to play on "I've Seen All Good People"