Search - Matthew Good :: In a Coma: 1995-2005

Matthew Good: In A Coma: 1995-2005 (EMI)

Young Music Reviewer | Boston, MA | 10/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's sad to know that a man as opinionated and educated as this one would be creating a ten-year retrospective for his work, especially since i feel like I am the only man who has noticed that Matthew Good's only album in America was Beautiful Midnight. In fact, I keep on worrying every time I get the chance what happened to Matthew Good with the American releases. Every other album was released in Canada, and it turns out America doesn't get to participate and listen in on his interviews and questions about choosing between a mansion and Social Distortion.

Now, In A Coma was released with all of his latest and greatest tunes and videos (sold separately), even the limited edition where they release his further imports like Loser Anthems. To tell you the truth, I wondered what made him do that, because if I understand the likes of the socially active and dignified, some of them feel they don't need to release a greatest hits album. The albums were greatest Hits album. But the Greatest Hits album contains all his geatest hits from The Future Is X-Rated (the song in which when everyone thinks of x-rated, they think of sex and nothing more), Alert Status Red ("In the wilderness, where the place you find freedom is in the dictionary under 'F'"), In A World Called Catastrophe (a well-expressed tune with 9-volume guitars sounding from the perspective of the cynical looking at the apocalypse from all over), to "Weapon" ("Here by my side, an angel/here by my side, the Devil") and also where his two newest singles are placed ("Oh Be Joyful", "Big City Life").

It also seems as if he took his best songs and the ones we hadn't heard much of and played acostic versions The disc is better known as ROOMS. To tell you the truth, "Hello Time Bomb" had energy and brains, so I can't really picture it being played with an acoustic guitar. Now that I listen to it in acoustic, it sounds kind of...eh. Melancholy and out of energy to spare. I also can't picture "Strange Days" being played any other way, BUT acoustic as it was originally. "Truffle Pigs" sounds as if it wasmade for acoustic because it fit the mood. Notice that whenever the music ia acoustic, that means not that he will not use samples for the music. Apparentlu, none of this was really live. So it seems the music is packed with the best and the unforgetable.

My one question is of why "Giant" wasn't put there. It would have been a wonderful add to the album, no matter if the album seems like a shot at the major label while they were on Atlantic Records. That would have been a wonderful statement to make on a greatest hits, but then again the statement would have shown his contradiction because he released a retrospective. Oh well. The listen was fun while it lasted, I believe. And so was the meet of a human called Matthew Good and his band. Odds are after ten years, he may come back for more music. Rightnow, settle for as much wisdom as you can get out of the CD. And you can say, "Godspeed, my brother. Thanks for your attempt to change music and the world."

Rating: 7.5/10"