100 FUN

Personnel Matthew Sweet vocals, acoustic, electric 12 string guitars, piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord, synthesizer, bass, theremin Brendan O'Brien acoustic, electric slide guitars, piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord, Clavinet, Mellotron Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine electric guitar Greg Leisz pedal steel guitar, electric lap steel guitar, mandolin Stuart Johnson, Ric Menck drums.Recorded at Southern Tracks Recording Studio, Atlanta, Georgia.Starring the same cast of characters who helped him sculpt previous works guitarists Richard Lloyd Television and Robert Quine Richard Hell The Voidoids along with Velvet Crush drummer Ric Menck 100% FUN brims with the power pop hooks that Matthew Sweet has become known for.Helmed by uber producer Brendan O'Brien, the album retains Sweet's veiled cynicism, whether it's the self loathing of Sick Of Myself or the feeling of abandonment in Walk Out, a song whose point is point driven by O'Brien's insistent harpsichord playing. Sweet's desperation culminates in the semi delusional vibe ebbing from Lost My Mind while Menck plays a constant militaristic cadence, Quine and Lloyd riff in and out of the song and O'Brien's mellotron pulses and oozes in a vortex that has Sweet's voice ebbing in and out of a fog.While the scenery around this part of Sweet's psyche may seem familiar, the tight production and crack playing groove enough to shed some light on this darker side of town.ReviewsSpin 1295, p.62 Ranked 7 on Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums Of '95.'Village Voice 22096 Ranked 20 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz Jop Critics' Poll.Entertainment Weekly 122995 1596, p.132 Ranked 8 on EW's Top 10 Albums Of 1995.Rolling Stone 4695, pp.61 62 4 Stars Excellent ...A wooly blend of pop hooks, rock roll fervor and fine love songs, 100% FUN is a better album than perhaps even Sweet had any right to expect....a rock roll record with immediacy, verve and depth that discloses its appeal readily and its secrets slowly...Spin 495, pp.196 197 8 Highly Recommended ...Quine and Lloyd are still around, which is only proper You wouldn't walk away from a challenge, would you And this time you're up to it....Electric Guitar is still here, but she works for you. For now.Musician 695, p.70 71 ...offers zero percent bile....Even when the lyrics wax pessimistic...the hooks and arrangements graced by the guitar work of Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine project a buoyancy and bite that preclude cynicism...Entertainment Weekly 41495, p.64 ...Sweet crafts pop the old fashioned way with loud guitars, lovesick wimp lyrics...and choruses that will encourage amateur singers to warble along....100% FUN makes you feel as if a good pop hook can solve any crisis... Rating BAlternative Press 495, pp.77 78 ...Imagine if Neil Young had released 20 years of Crazy Horse albums one after the other in the space of merely six, instead of interspersing them with all that other stuff You'd know exactly what to expect every time, but that wouldn't spoil the shock of discovery, the thrill of the bombast and the essential fact that Young writes amazingly wonderful songs. So does Sweet...n

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