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Sweet, Hoffs Team Up For '60s Covers Fest
02/21/2006 8:08 PM, Reuters
Troy Carpenter
Veteran power-pop
singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet and Bangles crooner Susanna Hoffs may not seem to the casual fan like the perfect pairing
for a duets album, but when it comes to paying tribute to the
golden-era rock/pop music of the 1960s, they couldn't be more
in tune with one another.
The two have known each other for many years, and were
already members of Ming Tea, the freakout-interlude band from
the "Austin Powers" comedies. But when they got together to
create "Under the Covers Vol. 1," a 15-track set of '60s
remakes out April 18 on Shout! Factory, they found just how
much their tastes ran together.
"The really bizarre thing," Hoffs told Billboard.com, "was
that the first time we came together (for the project), we both
had lists of songs we wanted to do, and the Left Banke's 'She
May Call You Up Tonight' was the first choice on both of our
lists."
Added Sweet, "And that's a very obscure song of theirs that
nobody knows, not one of their hits or anything."
Not that there's anything wrong with hit-makers; "Under the
Covers, Vol. 1" has tracks by the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the
Who, Neil Young, Love, the Velvet Underground, the Bee Gees and
the Mamas and the Papas. But the reverence with which Sweet and
Hoffs approach their songs makes the record seem more like a
pop fan's mix tape rather than a "Chart-Topping Smashes"
compilation.
"We went through some of our favorite songs and thought,
'Is there stuff for both of us to do on a particular song,
harmonies and such?' And if there wasn't, we'd work it out
later in the recording process," Sweet explained.
Said process took place at Sweet's home studio in Los
Angeles, accompanied by his longtime collaborators Ric Menck,
Richard Lloyd, Ivan Julian and Greg Leisz. Van Dyke Parks even
dropped by to lend keyboards to versions of Bob Dylan's "It's
All Over Now, Baby Blue" and the Stone Poneys' "Different
Drum," and to pen a spirited opening to the liner notes.
Hoffs and Sweet aren't just dwelling in the past. Both have
plenty of other projects on their plate, from Hoffs'
rejuvenated Bangles commitments (touring, early plans for a new
studio record) to Matthew Sweet's new album, which he's also
recording at home and hoping to get finished this year. And
they're also planning on writing songs together for a new Hoffs
solo album. But should fans infer anything from the "Vol. 1"
tag on "Under the Covers?"
"We want to make a 'Volume 2,' but we'll see how it pans
out," Sweet said. "We have a lot of other songs that if we had
the time we could go in and finish." Added Hoffs, "When there's
music, we're happy."
Reuters/Billboard
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