Susanna Hoffs Summary 'Gem' Review Nothing beats buying an album that doesn't try to be anthing but good listening. Where she disappeared to after this I don't know, but it's almost as if Ms. Hoffs knew she was going away and just wanted to leave a little something behind to show what she was like as a solo artist. The songs are most the most part a little more original than usual and very nicely sung and produced. The two hidden tracks are quirky takes on 70s(?) AM radio standards that turn out cool. | |
When You're a Boy Summary 'What's not to like?' Review FYI - "5. Daring One" is really "Darling One" and it's a beautiful song. Susanna has the most adorable voice and some very nice songs. | |
| Under The Covers, Vol. 1 Summary 'Quite good, actually' Review While I was disappointed with "When You're a Boy," I didn't think it was horrible. This one is much better, though -- and while she isn't Aimee Mann, any efforts in that general vein are to be encouraged. Highlights include "Weak With Love," "Enormous Wings" and the hidden cover of "Stuck in the Middle With You." Lowlights -- well, nothing's unlistenable, really, but "Falling" and "Darling One" are not my favorites. And, FWIW, I happen to like both "All Over the Place" and "Manic Monday." | |
| Doll Revolution (W/Dvd) Summary 'Time-honored tradition of power pop, as opposed to '80s MTV-ready big-hair synth-pop' Review The title of this review pretty much encapsulates the review itself. If you're drawn to Hoffs because you Loved The Eighties, and think of "Manic Monday" with the same love and affection you reserve for Laura Brannigan or Toni Basil or that chick who sang "Kids in America," then no, don't get this record. For you, the first one will more properly meet your expectations. If on the other hand you, like me, think All Over the Place is the best Bangles album, and you also really dug the Real World EP, and you like Hoffs and the Bangles for their stunning displays of power pop ecstacy (e.g., "September Gurls"), then you want this record. The supporting cast is great and hints strongly at the pedigree. This is a well-crafted piece of work with integrity and pop savvy that will hold up long after "Eternal Flame" has faded into Billboard trivia obscurity. That said, its a "small" record, one that will reward the discerning listener, but not necessarily a must-own. I'd give it 3 and a half stars if Amazon allowed halves. | |
| Under The Covers: Vol. 2 Summary 'You've got to be kidding!' Review You guys who bash Susanna's first album but love this one must be on downers. "When your a boy" captured much of the same sound that made her popular during the 80s. This album is a big bore and I couldnt make it through one song. Stricktly for the hippies. | |
| The Bangles: Return to Bangleonia - Live in Concert Summary 'For the love of the music' Review rare import, OOP HTF | |
| Under The Covers: Vol. 2 Summary 'ONE OF THE BEST COVER ALBUMS OF ALL TIME vol. 2' Review A heavyweight cast of producers and co-writers are on hand to bolster the ex-Bangle singer's fragile, slightly edgy second solo outing. The disc includes a cover of the Lightning Seeds' "All I Want," though it's her co-writes with David Baerwald ("Eyes of a Baby"), Imperial Drag's Roger Manning ("Falling") and Cracker's David Lowery ("Darling One") that impress most. --Jeff Bateman | |
| Under The Covers, Vol. 1 Summary 'Get this one and get Volume 1' Review Sweet jesus, I love this collection. Sue and Matt (or Susie and Sid) are such fans and the love comes through. Hearing their voices blend on the Yes son, "I've Seen All Good People," is close to bliss. And we get the channeling of lost souls like Alex Chilton ("Back of a Car") and George Harrison ("Beware of Darkness") with great reverence for the original. I was fortunate enough to see Susanna sing Linda Ronstadt in a lunchtime honky tonk in Nashville in 1984, so "Willin'" is a special treat. Since Vol. 1 were 60s songs and Vol. 2 covers the 70s, we can only hope that Vol. 3 ("See you next time!") will take on the 1980s. Maybe Matthew Sweet will try The Bangles' "Dover Beach." | |
| Sunshine Lies Summary 'Super Delicious Utter Fantastic!' Review Those who are interested in exploring new interpretations of old songs, must get this album. Under The Covers is not just a recycle of songs. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (of The Bangles) gave fresh atmosphere to each song. Carefully they chose important and most memorable songs of the era (70's in this vol. 2), and I have to say I couldn't agree more with the list. Getting Under The Covers vol. 1 is highly recommended. Get it while both still exist. The pair didn't reconstruct songs into different arrangements (like what George Martin did to Beatles in his In My Life album). Most, if not all, kept faith to the original arrangements. Sweet and Hoffs made beautiful vocal arrangement/ harmonies in every song. In many ways I'd compare them with Crosby, Stills & Nash. You'll notice the rich vocal arrangement in Go All The Way. IMHO, their version was much more beautiful than The Raspberries. I love their You're So Vain more than Carly Simon's. Even Hello It's Me was more romantic than Todd Rundgren's. I wished they'd cover Carole King's So Far Away, Harrison's Learning How To Love You, among others. However, this CD (and their vol. 1) is already perfect for your day. In my case, I've been listening for almost two weeks everyday now. | |
| Tommy Summary 'Stick with Vol. I' Review Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs sing cover versions. Got it? What more do you need to hear? This one covers their favourite songs from the 70s - it's great to have on as background music at BBQs, on long drives, singalongs, whatever. I like this one, but really urge you to seek out the first volume - their favourites from the 60s - it's amazing. | |
| Sgt. Pepper Live Summary 'THE MOST UNDERRATED POP ALBUM OF ALL TIME!' Review Quite simply a beautiful rendering of these great songs! They have done it again - and I can't stop listening to it! Their voices are such a perfect blend that it would make the beatles blush - and they render the beatles as well if not better! I can't WAIT to hear what they do next! More tours puleeeeeeeesssss! Buy this album - you will love it! | |
| Girlfriend (Spec) (Spkg) Summary 'Very Good Pop Music' Review I totally agree with several fan reviews posted here that Vol. I of this collaboration, which focused on some very interesting song choices from the 1960s, was excellent, but their move into the 70s falls flat. Unlike another reviewer here who thought this album looked great on paper (but was disappointed when he heard it), I didn't. Good God, who would want to hear this very sweet-sounding harmony duo cover unique, un-topable songs like All the Young Dudes and Bell Bottom Blues? Not me. But I gave it a try, and was right -- most of these cover versions do not work. The only song I really like is "Back of the Car," and maybe that's because I am not familiar with the original by Big Star. Their attempts at country rock fare little better. Buy Volume 1, and maybe they will have better luck if they move on to the 1980s. Also buy The Thorns album, on which Mathew Sweet works with a couple of other male singers on a fine album of original, Crosby, Stills & Nash-style songs. | |
| When You're a Boy Summary 'Unconditional Love For Sugary Pop Songs' Review Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs delighted rock and pop fans when they teamed up as Sid 'n Susie to record an album's worth of '60s classics called Under the Covers Vol. 1. Now, three years later, Under the Covers Vol. 2 finds our heroes moving forward through rock's back pages to take on another decade: the '70s. From power-pop like The Raspberries and Big Star to the soft-rock of Carly Simon and Bread, and from the classic-rock of John Lennon and Derek and the Dominos to the prog-rock of Yes, Sid 'n Susie offer a pretty thorough survey of the state of rock, just before the Sex Pistols. Features guest appearances by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Steve Howe of Yes, and George Harrison's son, Dhani Harrison. | |
| Susanna Hoffs Summary 'If you like Susanna Hoffs, you'll find some likeable songs here' Review This album is pure magic. It's more pop than Bangles but it's incredibly stylish pop, the production is eclectic and sometimes very pseudo-60's, the song are beautiful (most of them should be N1 hits in the perfect world) and Susanna frankly never sung better than here! This album deserved to sell millions but there's never justice in show-biz. I can't think of a single pop record more criminally underrated than WHEN YOU'RE A BOY. | |
| Doll Revolution (W/Dvd) Summary 'Not the strongest album around, but anything by Susanna Hoffs can't be that bad' Review This CD makes no pretentions at being anything other than a middle of the road pop album. In that respect, Susanna Hoffs is in fine voice, and while this type of album often tends to be overproduced, I really enjoy listening to almost every song here. I can assure one of the other reviewers that Susanna Hoffs, indeed, can sing. You may not like her song choices on this project, but the lady has a lovely voice. | |
| Under The Covers, Vol. 1 Summary 'ONE OF THE BEST COVER ALBUMS OF ALL TIME vol. 1' Review This CD is one of my guilty pleasures. I loved the Bangles, and I love this collection of Susanna's pop songs. This is one of those albums that you'll either love or hate. The songs ARE heavily produced with a wall of sound flavor, and yeah, it's sugary lightweight pop songs about love. If you're looking for heavy artsy stuff, look elsewhere. But this is five-star pop music, and it's gotten so much play on my iPod that I had to zero out the play count because it was taking over my Top 25 playlist like kudzu. The cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Unconditional Love" was better than the original, because Susanna could hit the high notes. I'd have a hard time picking out a favorite song off the album; I usually just play the whole thing, anyway. I liked this one much better than her follow up self-titled CD, since her voice didn't sound as good on that one. She was back in fine form in 2006's collaboration with Matthew Sweet, "Under the Covers, Vol. 1" | |
| Under The Covers: Vol. 2 Summary 'Vender ships prompty' Review I bought this CD only for the title song, which I like the best. But I did find one or two other songs I enjoyed. The rest didn't even make it onto my iPod. Since it wasn't too pricey, I was satisfied with the purchase. Nice to hear some new music (to me anyway) that hasn't been overplayed on the radio, but has that distinctive catchy sound. | |
| Glitter Years: Rarities & Gems Summary 'Why?' Review Her sugary sweet voice resulted in many hits for the Bangles, and the quality of it certainly doesn't diminish here. However, much of the material here is bland and soulless; someone like Susanna Hoffs deserves better songs to work with. The track "Only Love" isn't bad. | |
| Under The Covers, Vol. 1 Summary 'Pop Music At It's Best' Review Those who are interested in exploring new interpretations of old songs, must get this album. Under The Covers is not just a recycle of songs. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (of The Bangles) gave fresh atmosphere to each song. Carefully they chose important and most memorable songs of the era (60's in this vol. 1), and I have to say I couldn't agree more with the list. The pair didn't reconstruct songs into different arrangements (like what George Martin did to Beatles in his In My Life album). Most, if not all, kept faith to the original arrangements. Sweet and Hoffs made beautiful vocal arrangement/ harmonies in every song. In many ways I'd compare them with Crosby, Stills & Nash. You'll notice the rich vocal arrangement in Cinnamon Girl, Alone Again Or, The Kids Are Alright, Care of Cell #44, or I See The Rain. In fact, I think Hoffs sang better than Linda Ronstadt in Different Drum! The ending part of And Your Bird Can Sing was much better than The Beatles. Their sharing vocals on The Kids Are Alright was better than The Who. This album has 15 tracks and you got an almost full-space CD with a regular price. What can you expect more? I wish they'll continue this project with Under The Covers vol. 3 | |
| Under The Covers: Vol. 2 Summary 'Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers, Vol. 1' Review Sweet & Hoffs of the Bangels doing some standards. Godd album especially at the discounted price. Seller ships fast. Product as advertised. | |