Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs “Under The Covers Vol.3”

14 new songs from the Sid and Susie team, this time they pick their favorite 80’s tracks. One of my favorites early on, is Hoffs take on Rockpile’s “Girls Talk.” Another gem is Hoffs perfect rendition of “They Don’t Know” (Kristy MacColl’s big hit also covered by Tracy Ullman). Sweet doesn’t come off as well vocally and he’s given less to do, the exception is a spirited version of The dB’s “Big Brown Eyes.” More great collaborative efforts are on The Pretenders “Kid,” and Lindsey Buckingham’s “Trouble.”

Other tunes just sound merely decent, “Save It For Later” in particular didn’t work for me, compelling me to want to hear the original by The English Beat, and the same goes for a bland version of The Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The only train wreck here is “How Soon Is Now,” a Smiths tune that loses everything without Morrisey’s wailing interpretation. I would have picked a few different songs, but this is Sid and Susie’s karaoke and they’re clearly having fun. Overall this is a perfectly good addition to the Under The Covers series.

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