Extra from Spin:
- Soundtracking Our Digital Descent
- Woman Gaga Dazzles Throughout ‘SNL’ Double Obligation
- Michael Stipe Surprises At R.E.M. Tribute In NYC
Matthew Candy was born in Nebraska in 1964, and drew inspiration from the British Invasion bands dominating the charts simply as he got here into the world. Candy went to school in Athens, Georgia, and began a number of bands within the metropolis’s buzzing scene, together with a short-lived undertaking with Michael Stipe known as Group Trolls. Candy launched two main label solo albums within the late ’80s, each with out main business success.
In 1991, Candy signed with Zoo Leisure and launched Girlfriend, one of many biggest energy pop albums of all time, brimming over with hooks and scene-stealing guitar solos by Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd. Candy remained a fixture on different radio for a lot of the ’90s with hits like “Girlfriend,” “Sick of Myself,” “The Ugly Reality,” and “Divine Intervention.” And within the twentieth century, he continued to make unapologetically hooky, nostalgic pop/rock, whereas additionally recording collaborative information with the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, and with Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins because the Thorns.
Candy suffered a stroke in October 2024 whereas on tour in Canada, and followers have rallied across the singer-songwriter, donating to a GoFundMe to assist along with his restoration. Let’s look again at Candy’s sprawling catalog on the thirtieth anniversary of one in all his hottest albums, 1995’s 100% Enjoyable.
21. Fashionable Artwork (2011)
Many artists generally categorized as energy pop have been reluctant to embrace the label. Matthew Candy, nevertheless, wrote an affectionate ode to the style known as “Late Nights with the Energy Pop.” The self-produced Fashionable Artwork has a unfastened, playful vibe, however the combine by no means sounds fairly proper, with Candy’s vocals typically drowning out the instrumentation. Former Trenchmouth drummer and Saturday Evening Reside solid member Fred Armisen performs on “Ivory Tower,” including to Candy’s prolonged roster of well-known sidemen.
20. Beneath the Covers, Vol. 1 with Susanna Hoffs (2006)
Candy and Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs began enjoying British Invasion covers collectively within the mid-’90s, forming the band Ming Tea with comedy star Mike Myers. The swinging ’60s persona Myers created for the band, Austin Powers, ultimately grew to become the title character in his massively profitable movie franchise, with Ming Tea making cameos in all three Austin Powers motion pictures. Just a few years later, Candy and Hoffs began their very own trilogy, recording three collections of canopy songs for the reissue-oriented label Shout! Manufacturing facility. A lot of the songs on the ’60s-themed first quantity of Beneath the Covers are acquainted chestnuts by the likes of the Beatles or Dylan, however the duo additionally dig up the Seaside Boys B-side “The Heat of the Solar” and cult classics by Marmalade and the Left Banke.
19. Sunshine Lies (2008)
Sunshine Lies is one in all Candy’s extra keyboard-heavy albums, together with the piano-driven ballad “Really feel Worry,” a Mellotron wig-out on “Time Machine,” and an expressive organ outro on “Pleasure is Mine.” There are nonetheless some smoking guitar leads, although, and “Flying” and “Again of My Thoughts” are Candy’s newer collaborations with Tv’s Richard Lloyd. “Candy’s eased into the stable however hardly ever distinctive level in his profession. He’s constant to a fault,” Joshua Klein wrote within the Pitchfork assessment of Sunshine Lies.
18. Inside (1986)
Columbia Information signed a 21-year-old Matthew Candy and spent some huge cash on his debut album, which was recorded in 17 studios on either side of the Atlantic. Almost each music was produced by a special individual, a murderers’ row of ’80s different rock producers: Scott Litt, David M. Allen, Stephen Hague, David Kahne, Don Dixon, and Ron Saint Germain, amongst others. Regardless of its Prime 40 aesthetic, Inside by no means charted.
17. Son of Altered Beast EP (1994)
Candy’s “Superdeformed” was the opening observe on Crimson Sizzling Group’s hit 1993 AIDS aid compilation No Various, and it’s most likely Candy’s finest (and heaviest) music that by no means appeared on one in all his correct albums. It did, nevertheless, seem in stay type on Son of Altered Beast, an EP launched towards the tip of the Altered Beast album cycle. Largely composed of stay tracks, together with a canopy of Neil Younger’s “Don’t Cry No Tears,” in addition to a remix and a very good new music, “Ultrasuede,” Son of Altered Beast is very pleasurable for a minor stopgap launch.
16. Beneath the Covers, Vol. 3 with Susanna Hoffs (2013)
The third and remaining Beneath the Covers album focuses on music from the Nineteen Eighties, the last decade through which Candy and Hoffs each started their careers. They deal with “Sitting Nonetheless” by Candy’s previous mates R.E.M., and “Our Lips Are Sealed” by the Bangles’ lady group contemporaries The Go-Go’s. Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” is the one music from the second half of the last decade—it’s actually an early ’80s cowl album, with an emphasis on new wave bands like The English Beat and The Pretenders.
15. Beneath the Covers, Vol. 2 with Susanna Hoffs (2009)
The ’70s version of the Beneath the Covers is Candy and Hoffs’ most various assortment, starting from Little Feat’s country-rock trucker ballad “Willin’” to Mott the Hoople’s glam rock anthem “All of the Younger Dudes.” They go prog, protecting all 7 minutes of Sure’s “I’ve Seen All Good Folks,” but in addition spend loads of time of their energy pop consolation zone with Huge Star, Raspberries, and Todd Rundgren songs. “Hoffs and Candy clearly love the songs they’re tackling, with the vibe all through operating extra in the direction of Enjoyable Karaoke Evening than Main Inventive Assertion,” Stephen Haag wrote within the Pop Issues assessment of Beneath the Covers, Vol. 2.
14. Earth (1989)
Candy jumped to A&M Information for his second album and began to get a bit nearer to discovering his signature sound, working for the primary time with the lead guitarists who’d assist form his hottest ’90s work: Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd. Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley) additionally rips a exceptional solo on “Love.” Some may say that Earth is overproduced, with drums that had been sampled and looped relatively than performed stay, however the album stays value listening to for the stellar guitar work.
13. The Thorns with The Thorns (2003)
The Thorns was one thing of a Gen X reply to Crosby, Stills & Nash, as Candy teamed up with two different singer-songwriters who’d skilled a reasonable quantity of business success within the ’90s: Shawn Mullins of “Lullaby” fame and Pete Droge of “If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)” fame. Candy’s voice dominates a number of the finest songs, together with the opening observe “Runaway Feeling,” however what makes the album work is that the three singers harmonize collectively fantastically, particularly on the only “I Can’t Keep in mind” and a canopy of the Jayhawks’ “Blue.” The trio opened for the Dixie Chicks in arenas earlier than all three artists resumed their solo careers.
12. Depraved System of Issues (2018)
Whereas many artists select to launch limited-edition or uncommon pressings for Document Retailer Day, Matthew Candy’s 2018 RSD unique was a complete album of stable new songs. Depraved System of Issues was recorded at dwelling in Omaha after writing music for a proposed collaborative undertaking with Low cost Trick’s Rick Nielson and Tom Petersson that by no means got here to fruition. “It’s a Charade” is a uncommon political music from Candy, a sneering takedown of President Donald Trump. “Depraved System of Issues has some Candy energy pop with tunes like ‘Good Ladies are Gone’ and ‘Eternity Now,’ psychedelia with a cool melody on ‘Flashback’ and appropriately strikes into Low cost Trick territory on ‘Counting the Days,’” wrote L. Kent Wolgamott within the Lincoln Journal-Star assessment of the album.
11. Blue Sky on Mars (1997)
Candy’s longtime label Zoo Leisure was bought to new possession in 1996, and Blue Sky on Mars was one of many final albums launched by Zoo earlier than the label’s title was completely retired. It additionally marked the tip of Candy’s run as a mainstream hitmaker, with “The place You Get Love” turning into the final Candy single to get a superb quantity of airplay on different radio and MTV. The shimmering, atmospheric “Till You Break” is a preview of a number of the sounds Candy would start exploring over his subsequent few albums.
10. To Perceive: The Early Recordings of Matthew Candy (2002)
In 2002, Hip-O Information compiled a reasonably full overview of the primary decade of Candy’s recording profession, courting all the way in which again to his early ’80s stint in Athens. The songs by Candy’s early band The Buzz of Delight are closely influenced by R.E.M., and there’s even an intriguing lo-fi observe, “Tainted Obligation,” from Candy’s undertaking with Michael Stipe himself, Group Trolls. To Perceive cherry picks one of the best songs from Inside and Earth, in addition to Candy’s standout look on “One thing Turns into Nothing” by the New York artwork rock band The Golden Palominos. “Good Buddy,” an early demo of the music that will ultimately turn into “Girlfriend,” takes the compilation proper up to date simply earlier than Candy lastly grew to become a star.
9. Kimi Ga Suki (2003)
It’s an previous cliché, however like many area of interest American artists, Candy is large in Japan, and in 2003 he put collectively an album to thank his Japanese followers. Kimi Ga Suki was written in every week and recorded in his dwelling studio with Candy’s Girlfriend-era backing band, full of large melodic rockers just like the hovering “The Ocean In-Between.” Launched in between far more advanced and impressive albums, Kimi Ga Suki is a stripped-down storage rock palette cleanser, and even the folky acoustic music “Love is Gone” has a refreshing simplicity.
8. Tomorrow Perpetually (2017)
By the mid-2010s, Matthew Candy had recorded for seven totally different firms with out ever actually settling right into a long-term label. The rise of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter was a godsend for a cult artist like Candy, and he raised cash on Kickstarter to file and launch Tomorrow Perpetually on his personal label, Honeycomb Hideout. In that context, “Music for Love” seems like a celebration of Candy’s devotion to creating information, irrespective of the circumstances, and he sounds completely comfy serving these songs on to his diehard followers. “Entangled” continues Candy’s lengthy custom of false endings that started with “Divine Intervention” and “Sick of Myself.” “There’s a darkness and bleak honesty to Candy’s lyrics that always belie the catchy tunes beneath,” Hal Horowitz wrote within the American Songwriter assessment of Tomorrow Perpetually.
7. Tomorrow’s Daughter (2018)
A lot as Altered Beast was adopted by Son of Altered Beast, Tomorrow’s Daughter is the offspring of Tomorrow Perpetually. Candy wrote 38 songs for his 2017 album, and compiled the demos for the unused songs into an extra album, which was initially given completely to backers of the Kickstarter marketing campaign. On Tomorrow’s Daughter, the songs are diverse and lyrically intriguing. There’s a relaxed twang in “One thing Somebody” and “Run Away” that fits Candy surprisingly effectively, and the principle riff on “Years” has some Rolling Stones grit.
6. In Reverse (1999)
From the the other way up cowl portray by iconic artist Margaret Keane to the backmasked guitars and lyrics that incessantly middle on the theme of time, In Reverse might be the closest factor to an idea album that Candy has ever made. With an expanded supporting solid together with legendary session musicians like Jim Keltner and Carol Kaye in addition to future pop hitmaker Greg Kurstin, In Reverse is an adventurous assortment of cinematic pop that closes with the 9-minute epic “Thunderstorm.” The music on the album that almost all resembles Candy’s largest hits is “Write Your Personal Track,” a bitter, humorous and catchy riposte to fickle followers and critics. “Candy isn’t simply making tidy date music right here—he has one thing actual to say concerning the passage of time and the knowledge that comes after youth,” Karen Schoemer wrote within the Rolling Stone assessment of In Reverse.
5. Catspaw (2021)
Given Candy’s fame for that includes virtuoso guitarists on his albums, one may mistakenly assume that Candy prefers to stay to rhythm guitar. His most up-to-date album Catspaw, nevertheless, is a powerful argument on the contrary. With longtime drummer Ric Menck as the one different musician on the album, Candy performs all of the guitars, and rips spectacular solos and hovering lead guitar melodies throughout “Stars Explode” and “Maintain on Tight.” In gentle of Candy’s current well being points, and his admission in a December 2024 letter to followers that he “could by no means play guitar once more,” his impressed shredding on Catspaw is a bittersweet reminder of his instrumental skills. “Candy continues to make heartbreak and heartache really feel comfy and nice like a heat blanket,” Russ Holsten wrote within the SLUG Journal assessment of Catspaw.
4. Altered Beast (1993)
Launched between his two most-popular albums, Altered Beast might be thought of a considerably darkish and misunderstood entry within the Matthew Candy catalog, even regardless of the energy of songs like “Satan with the Inexperienced Eyes” and “Figuring out Folks.” Along with Candy’s ordinary solid of well-known guitarists, Altered Beast boasts an all-star lineup of drummers from a few of his favourite bands: Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, Jody Stephens of Huge Star, and Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello & the Sights.
3. Residing Issues (2004)
From the second Doug Lacy’s metal drums open “The Huge Cats of Shambala,” it’s instantly clear that Residing Issues goes to current a really totally different palette of sounds than most of Matthew Candy’s different albums. Legendary multi-instrumentalist Van Dyke Parks (Seaside Boys, Randy Newman) is part of the luxurious, unpredictable sound of the album, together with longtime Candy sideman Greg Leisz contributing a lot of mandolin and mandola. Residing Issues nonetheless has rockers just like the bass-driven “Dandelion,” but it surely’s texturally wealthy and ingenious in a method that Candy’s extra guitar-driven information seldom try.
2. 100% Enjoyable (1995)
Candy thrived along with his vibrant energy pop sound throughout an period when brooding grunge bands dominated the charts. However one in all grunge’s prime producers, Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots), was an excellent foil for Candy on two laborious rocking efforts, 100% Enjoyable and Blue Sky on Mars. With the previous, Candy acquired his highest-charting album in addition to the one Sizzling 100 entry of his profession, the bouncy and irresistible “Sick of Myself.” Regardless of any meant irony of the title, 100% Enjoyable really is a blast from entrance to black, and the stormy and ominous “Misplaced My Thoughts” is a uncommon occasion when Lloyd and Quine performed on the identical music. “I particularly just like the gradual ones, the Seaside Boy harmonies on the finish of ‘Not Once I Want It,’” Jeff Salamon wrote within the SPIN assessment of 100% Enjoyable.
1. Girlfriend (1991)
Producer and drummer Fred Maher (Lou Reed, Journey Shakespeare) had labored on Candy’s second main label album, producing and co-writing a couple of tracks. And after the frustration of 1989’s Earth, Candy and Maher went again to sq. one with a extra spontaneous and live-sounding file impressed by albums just like the Beatles’ Revolver and Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, with heavy compression and old style laborious panned stereo mixing. The outro of “Evangeline” options Richard Lloyd soloing wildly in the fitting channel and Candy enjoying a second lead guitar line within the left channel. Robert Quine’s scorching solos leads on the title observe and “Day for Evening” threaten to upstage the artist whose title is on the quilt. A sleeper hit that lastly went gold in 1995, and continues to search out followers a long time later, Girlfriend is Candy’s enduring basic.
To see our operating checklist of the highest 100 biggest rock stars of all time, click on right here.
