The Adventurers Club

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - The Pillowcase EP

We are back with another Record of the Week

This week we have an EP taken from the Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs album "Under the Covers Volume 1".

One of the unique things about this EP is that it's set up like a double LP with a gatefold sleeve and two separate 45's which include the four tracks. It's a very attractive package and well worth tracking down.

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP - Front Cover

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP -  Back Cover

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP - Inside Sleeve Left

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP - Inside Sleeve Right

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP - Disc 1

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs The Pillowcase EP - Disc 2

'til Matthew Sweet finishes producing the next Bangles album

Keep the Adventure Alive,

@Adventuretom

Under the Covers

It's become something of a trend for veteran bands to record cover albums of the songs they listened to as teenagers.

Recently we have seen Feedback by Rush, Yeah! by Def Leppard, Our Kind of Soul by Daryl Hall and John Oates and Big Bang Theory by Styx.

The most recent addition to this list is "Under the Covers Vol. 1" from Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet.

Susanna Hoffs is of course most known for her time as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist for the Bangles.

Matthew Sweet has been on the fringe of power pop for the last fifteen years scoring minor hits with "Girlfriend" and "Sick of Myself." Matthew Sweet is also somewhat notorious for appearing on more tribute and cover albums  than anyone else in the industry. Some of these include the Carpenter's tribute "If I Had a Hammer", the Monkees tribute "Hear No Evil" and my all time favorite tribute album - "Saturday Morning Cartoons", where he does a bang up job of  "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?"

Under the Covers is a collection of mostly sixties tracks. Highlights include "Cinnamon Girl", "And Your Bird Can Sing" and a jangly version of Michael Nesmith's "Different Drum", originally covered by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.

Not everyone is a fan of the "covers" trend. I heard a lot of whining when Rush released Feedback. Some people think performers should stick with original material, but I find this type of album offers a unique look into  the development of an artist  as we get to hear the music that ultimately inspired them to become musicians.

Under the Covers isn't the first collaboration between Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet. They also worked together in the fictional band "Ming Tea" for the Austin Powers movies.

Adding "Volume One" to the title of the Under the Covers CD may be prophetic. Apparently Susanna and Matthew recorded a lot more tracks and could  possibly  fill a second cd if this one achieves some level of success. I hope to see the second volume, this is a fun CD and I'm not ready for the "covers" trend to end.

'til Matthew Sweet covers the Pussycat Dolls

Keep the Adventure Alive,

AT