Search - Matt Nathanson :: Beneath These Fireworks

Amazing

A Random Reviewer | 01/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say, Matt Nathanson is an amazing artist, almost magical. I find myself listening to this CD over and over again, humming the songs throughout the day. I first hear Matt on Yahoo's LaunchCast radio, where a user enters a few artists they enjoy, rates songs, and so on, and Yahoo makes music reccomendations for you. I have to say, Matt was definitely a good reccomendation. I love his voice insanley, and his lyrics are so sweet and heartfelt, and I find I can relate bits and pieces of each song to some emotion that I'm feeling at the time.Matt plays most of his songs on a 12-string guitar, something not very common among a lot of artists today. I find it impossible to choose favorites when speaking of this album, because I'm in love with so many parts of each of his songs. The tracks "Suspended", "I Saw", "Pretty The World", and "Curve Of The Earth" are stuck in my head the most, but that doesn't mean the remaining songs are lacking at all. I've heard many, many times that Matt is so much better live than from a studio, which frightens me (in a good way) because his studio album has kept me happy for so long. I'm desperate to see him live, now.Please, don't pass this album up. Matt has been recording his own albums since college and isn't very well known, and he certainly deserves to be, considering how much crap there is in the mainstream radio. I think the music world deserves a little bit more Matt Nathanson. :-)"

Matt's pretty good on the album, but pretty great live

interphase_fish | Philadelphia, PA | 10/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't really think the sound clips do justice to this album, nor the album to the artist -- which is not to say the album's a dud by any means. On the contrary, it contains some of Matt's finest work, albeit with a heavy layer of studio production that sometimes detracts from the songs, especially if you've never heard the stripped-down acoustic versions before (particularly the case for I Saw and Lucky Boy).Give a listen to Suspended, Sad Songs, and Little Victories, then dig up some of his live stuff, which is not hard to find (legally) on the internet. Matt's at his best when he's on stage.About the inevitable John Mayer comparisons: yes, they're both Guys With Guitars. John Mayer does the smooth bluesy jazzy thing, Matt's more of an average-Joe type, sings what he feels, mostly good-natured with a healthy cynical streak. The fact that Matt was finally signed by a major label in the wake of John Mayer's success was probably no coincidence, but that doesn't mean that either of them aren't talented artists in their own right."