b. 6 October 1964, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Before the success of his third album, 1991’s Girlfriend, Matthew Sweet had been best known for his work in the late 80s with the Golden Palominos. Before that, in the early 80s, he had recorded under the name Buzz Of Delight, based in Athens, Georgia, issuing a mini-album entitled Sound Castles which was produced by Don Dixon. Two further albums of ‘keyboard doodlings’ were never released. His partner on the first of these albums was Dave Pierce. Both also performed with Oh-OK, the Athens band featuring Linda Stipe (sister of R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe), which later evolved into Magnapop. Inside, Sweet’s debut solo album under his own name, followed in 1986, and featured contributions from the Bangles and Chris Stamey. Included in the production credits was Alan Tarney, who produced Cliff Richard’s ‘Devil Woman’, as well as material by Dream Syndicate.
On Girlfriend Sweet was accompanied by New York musicians including Fred Maher (of Material), Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd (ex-Television), plus the UK’s Lloyd Cole and the Velvet Crush drummer Ric Menck (Lloyd, Menck and Quine had first appeared on 1989’s Earth). The mature rock of Girlfriend, which went on to sell over half a million copies in the USA, was compared by some to Neil Young and Big Star, despite its shoestring recording budget. Son Of Altered Beast remixed the best track from Sweet’s fourth album Altered Beast, ‘Devil With The Green Eyes’, and added five live tracks recorded with Lloyd, Menck and Quine in October 1993 and January 1994. For 100% Fun that trio were joined by Greg Leisz (formerly with k.d. lang) on pedal steel and mandolin, with Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Soundgarden) producing. In acknowledgement of his popularity in the Far East, it was accompanied by a comic that featured Sweet. The touring band for 1995 added Tony Marsico (bass) and Stuart Johnson (drums). Blue Sky On Mars was crammed with appealing hooks, nifty breaks and snappy songs - all with high commercial potential but none with the mark of ‘a truly great pop song’. In Reverse was a sumptuous follow-up that many believed was his finest album since Girlfriend.
Sweet has oodles of talent spread over numerous songs, but despite this the ‘classic’ monster composition still eludes him. In 2003, he recorded an album as part of the Thorns, a Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young influenced trio also featuring Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins. The same year he cut an album specifically aimed at his loyal Japanese following. To the delight of many of his fans, Kimi Ga Suki* Raifu reunited Sweet’s Girlfriend -era line-up of Ric Menck (drums), Richard Lloyd (guitar), and Greg Leisz (guitar). In 2004, Sweet released his first North American album in five years. The glossy Living Things featured extensive input from former Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks.
