Matthew Sweet - To Understand: The Early Recordings of Matthew Sweet

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Music reviews of To Understand: The Early Recordings of Matthew Sweet

Music Review: Well-drawn portrait of the artist as a young man
Rating: 4 Stars

This collection skips his earliest released work, performed as a sideman (rather than a front-and-center singer-songwriter) with Lynda Stipe's band, Oh OK, but that work's residue can still be heard clearly. In particular, the DIY-sound forged by Oh OK and Mitch Easter in his North Carolina Drive-In studio, and the connections Sweet made with other Athens-based musicians (notably, Oh OK's original drummer, David Pierce), lingered on.

This album picks up with Sweet's work with David Pierce in Buzz of Delight, represented here by two cuts from their out-of-print 1984 EP, "Soundcastles," and a trio of previously unreleased titles. The band's sound brings mind then-contemporaries such as Let's Active, Love Tractor, and The Neats. Chris Stamey dropped by the sessions that produced the unreleased tracks, lending a hint of the dB's sound. Of the unreleased tracks, "Briar Rose" is especially fine, most closely anticipating later directions.

Sweet's Athens connections (specifically, REM manager Jefferson Holt) led to contact with Columbia Records, which in turn resulted in his first album deal as a solo artist. That album, 1986's "Inside" (represented here by tracks #6-9), found Sweet co-writing with Jules Shear and Pal Shazar, and recording with a large number of different producers, including David Kahne (Bangles, Romeo Void, Translator), Scott Litt (REM, dB's, Chris Stamey), Stephen Hague (Erasure, New Order, OMD, Pet Shop Boys), and Alan Tarney (A-ha's "Take On Me"). The synthesizer- and drum machine-heavy productions are too busy for their own good, though Sweet's songs are still charming, and his guitar playing occasionally finds its way to the surface. Overall, these tracks sound like talent strained through well-crafted mid-80s production cliches.

The musical connections Sweet forged on "Inside" -- most notably drummers Anton Fier and Fred Maher -- would have a more lasting career impact than the album itself. Fier brought Sweet into his Golden Palominos' project, having him play bass on the road, and writing and singing the album track, "Something Becomes Nothing." Sweet's appearance with the Palominos cut much closer to the emotional bone than the producer makeovers of "Inside," and, once again, he made another important connection, this time with guitarist Richard Lloyd.

Sweet's second solo album, "Earth" (on A&M), featured Maher as co-producer, "programmer," and occasional co-writer, with Lloyd, and Richard Quine adding superb guitar parts. Released in 1989, Sweet had yet to fully ground his sound, but he was heading in the right direction. Lloyd and Quine's guitars added considerable humanity, taking the edge of the programmed parts, and helping aim Sweet's music towards the pure power-pop sound to which he's would eventually surrender. Highlights of "Earth," represented here by tracks #11-16, include the wistful romanticism of "Easy" and the hummable melody of "Wind and the Sun." Sweet's lyrics could still be clunky, but at least they weren't buried under the mid-80s production gloss of his debut.

Filling out this disc is a quartet of demo versions written and recorded entirely by Sweet during the "Earth" era, and released as rare, bonus B-sides. Most interesting to fans first engaged by "Girlfriend" will be the early demo of "Divine Intervention." The song's lyrics, melody and signature guitar licks are all in place, but Sweet had yet to find the vocal sound that would really define it. Also included from the post-"Earth" period is a demo of "Good Friend," which would eventually be retitled "Girlfriend." Though it doesn't have the polish of the final, the elements that fueled the "Girlfriend" album were almost all in place. Sweet's lyrics became more direct and emotional, the guitar playing edgier, and the singing more emphatic.

The album wraps with a previously unreleased 1983 recording of Sweet and REM vocalist Michael Stipe, performing as Community Trolls. It's an excellent, guitar-and-accordion ballad built on two terrific voices that sound terrific together. Hopefully other of the band's tracks will surface some day.

Sweet's early work doesn't measure up to that shining moment of pop glory that is "Girlfriend." Still, the seeds of "Girlfriend" are here, sometimes plain to hear, sometimes layered deep under a producer's ideas. The evolution from The Buzz of Delight's indie-DIY, to the over-produced (and outdated) sounds of "Inside," to the coming-out of "Earth" draws a fascinating journey. Jeff Calder's liner notes occasionally slide into hyperbolics, but Sweet's personal memories are very enlightening. Those venturing into Sweet's back-catalog for the first time couldn't ask for a better guide, one that hits most of the high-points, including some excellent rarities, mostly obviating the need to purchase (and listen to) all of the individual albums.

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