May 27, 2003

Various Artists "Matinee 50"

What a brilliant little concept this is, getting the label's roster to cover songs from the back catalog! It's terribly brilliant, too--but that's ot surprisng, really, considering the wonderful pop records that Mr. Jimmy Tassos has released over the past six years. It's a brilliant idea to celebrate their fiftieth release, which is also a pretty amazing accomplishment for this young, six-year old label--even more impressive when you consider that most of his releases over the past year have been consistently strong and well-received.

There are twenty songs on Matinee 50! to pick and choose from, and I'm sure that you'll find one or two that will be your new favorite Matinee song! Personally, I've got a few that are already zooming up my personal fav-o-rite song charts, including Melodie Group's cover of The Would-Be-Good's hit "Emmanuelle Beart," The Guild League's jazzy cover of Airport Girl's "Between Delta and Delaware," The Pines' lovely country torch of The Fairways' "Darling, Don't You Think?" and Simpatico's moody, sad cover of the even sadder Harper Lee's "Train Not Stopping." Personally, I'm most impressed by the cover of Sportique's "Just Friends" by Matinee's newest superstars, Pale Sunday. These kids from Brazil really know their way around a pop song, and Luiz Gustavo has one of the sweetest, most seductive voices I've heard in ages. Everyone I know agrees--this is a band to watch!

Here's to 50 great releases so far--and hopefully 50 more! I know that whenever I get a package in the mail that says Matinee Recordings on it, I can rest assured that the contents will be nothing short of high-quality. Jimmy's really struck gold with his label, and it's a safe bet to say that the Matinee logo is one to trust. A toast, then, to quality pop music!!

--Joseph Kyle

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