Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun

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Music reviews of 100% Fun

Music Review: Everything Rocks
Rating: 5 Stars

"Sick of Myself" was the hit off this one, and it's classic from all standpoints. It's a grunge-ish alternative song that's three chords and an incredible solo.
"Not When I Need It" is another great song - more alt-rock and less grunge and slower than "Sick of Myself", but otherwise of the same mold.
"We're the Same" was a minor modern rock hit, and is quite good also, though not particularly notable for anything.

"Giving it Back" is a fairly standard rock song that's made worthwhile by the solo - that happens a lot on this album, actually.
"Everything Changes" is a nice ballad-type, with a great melody by Sweet and another great Richard Lloyd lead.
"Lost My Mind" is INCREDIBLY good, with a superb beat and a great feel. This is a standout song all the way around.
"Come to Love" is quite similar to "Giving It Back". Nothing major on this one, but it's nice.
"Walk Out" is roots-rock tinged, with a nice chord progression and - you guessed it - another brilliant solo.
"I Almost Forgot" is a decent enough piano ballad.
"Super Baby" is an interesting mix of gutsy rock, nearly off-key lead in the chorus, and a Moog synthesizer in the post-chorus.
"Get Older" has a good melody on it.
And "Smog Moon" is a song that you will absolutely love if you have any taste. Very tender, very affecting, with an absolutely tremendous melody delivered with true emotion by Sweet. Very powerful.

Sweet is the vocalist, bassist, rhythm guitar player, and keyboardist on this album, with two lead guitarists (Quine and Lloyd), two different drummers who are both good, and - very importantly - Brendan O'Brien as producer. O'Brien contributes a lot of instrument tracks on here himself, and balances the instruments and vocals perfectly, especially where the solos are in ratio to the rest of the mix. Sweet's previous album, Altered Beast, had its leads too much in the front of the mix as produced by Richard Dashut, giving a slightly too chaotic feel, as Sweet's vocals were slightly hard to hear. O'Brien gives a full sound to 100% Fun, making it very listenable and worthwhile. In fact, Altered Beast would have been a masterpiece if O'Brien had produced it (contrast the album version of "Devil with the Green Eyes" and the O'Brien produced remix on the Son of a Beast EP). So his importance cannot be overstated. All told, there is no reason you shouldn't own this album. It's a staple and definer of my collection.

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