Under The Covers Vol. 1 - Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
Under The Covers Vol. 1 Image
Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

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  • Summary: Singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet joins The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs for a collection of 15 covers, including takes on Bob Dylan, The Who, The Bee Gees and the Velvet Underground.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    There's surprising joy to be found in a couple of pros singing songs they love. [21 Apr 2006, p.73]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Amazon.com
    80
    By and large this is a delightful power-pop excursion.
  3. Uncut
    80
    What elevates Under The Covers above mimicry is the poignancy of the performances from all concerned. [May 2006, p.124]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. All Music Guide
    60
    The affection that Sweet, Hoffs and company display for this music is the reason to hear this record: they're having such a good time playing their favorite songs, it's hard not to smile along as well.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. jamesp
    10
    long review: You know what bugs me is people who have the nerve to say, in almost the same sentence, that this cd is "exactly the same as the originals," give a low grade, and then ALSO give it a low grade because the performers dont sound just like the original performers???? huh?????! this is an excellent cd full of great covers, and yet this is definitely matthew sweet and susanna hoff singing. You can tell they are having a great time at it too. This is an inspired performance. also the comments that hoff and sweets voices dont blernd? that comment doesnt make any sense at all. listen to "who knows where the time goes" or "care of cell 44." Their rendition of "who knows where...." should be a single. It is EXCELLENT. fabulous remake and hoff nails it with sweet providing great harmony. It is a very moving song. both these great performers put their own creative stamps on these recordings. great guitar solos thruout. ..and the backup musicians are top notch. I cannot stand when reviewers give negative criticism to "to slick productions." they sound great. no these are not JUST LIKE THE ORIGINALS. They are modern beautiful updates that dont try drastically change the originals because the originals are timeless. But these remakes are excellently produced, performed, and recorded with heart and respect. why is that so wrong?? Considering all the different covers, from 2 songs by Neil Young to the Beatles, Beachboys, The WHo, Dylan, BeeGees, Zombies, Love, Velvet Underground, etc..and yet tthe performers make all these diverse groups sound like a wonderful unified musical experience. i guess excellent & polished musicianship and vocals is a negative quality for performers to have these days. I hope there really is a volume two,since this has volume one in the title. short review: this cd is excellent.… Expand
  2. Julian
    9
    A well crafted and well delivered performance. Being a fan of Sweet's work, I enetered this with suspicion as his own work is well written and does not need to cover others. It is obvious with the collection of these songs where Sweet gets his inspiration from. As for Hoffs, her singing surprised me and showed a depth that she has not been credited with before.… Expand
  3. RobbotheYobbo
    8
    I have to say, S. Talbot is being hyperbolic. At the very least, ST needs to track down Ms. Hoff's first solo album in order to let this one of the hook as being the worst s/he ever heard. There are *some* well known songs covered on this album, yes, but over a third of the album is stuff you, me or ST never heard before: "She May Call You Up Tonight, " "I See the Rain" "Care of Cell #44" - you can't even FIND these songs in the record stores today. The Left Banke has nothing in print, and "She May..." is the best farkin' song on the album! Get some perspective, ST - if you expect something less than everything-but-the-kitchen-sink production from Matthew Sweet, you haven't been listening to him for the past, oh, 20 years! The only misfires on this album, imo, are the rootsier songs, which don't really work with Ms. Hoffs' voice. But 11 of the 15 songs on here are pristinely delivered pop songs that will have you punching the *back* button on your ipod/cd player over and over again.… Expand
  4. STalbot
    0
    I'm not being hyperbolic here: This is easily one of the worst albums I've ever heard, full of overdone songs, pointlessly and poorly covered. It's certainly one of the most self indulgent as these are basically note for note covers of well known songs by well known artists - only they're vastly inferior to the originals and with overly-polished sounding production. Hoff's voice sounds particularly weak in comparison to Linda Ronstadt's when covering Different Drum.… Expand

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