Matinee Records [CD, 2003]

Covering a song by Morrisey is quite similar to covering the Beatles or Led Zeppelin—it never really lives up to the original. Thus, skepticism is common in approaching the Matinee Records tribute album. However, the artists' similarity in and among themselves and towards the Smiths make the album a pure delight. While some may argue the songs follow the originals too closely, others will absolutely fall for the lineup's rendition of songs by one of the most influential artists of the 1980s.

I was born in 1980. That means I was three when The Smith's first record was released. Romantic & Square is Hip & Aware is Matinee Records' tribute to the 20 th anniversary of that release, snagging the title from the single "William, It Was Really Nothing."

It was a different time, one I barely remember. For me, music did not become a big part of my life until the '90s. The '80s, in the book of Fense, were all about toy cars and baseball cards. Looking back, I almost long to have been a teen during those years. I would have been able to experience a time quite different from the one in which I grew. Such an experience is outlined on the inner cover of Romantic & Square is Hip & Aware and is attributed to The Snowdrop Foundation (July, 2003):

A world without mobile phones, Britney or Sky, and maybe in all honesty we were better off without them. We didn't have 'house music' or 'Dianagate'; instead people bought pop records--tiny round bits of vinyl that were housed in cardboard sleeves. People loved them, cycled twenty miles to buy them, smelled them, fell in love with them, and sometimes cried with them...

For some, those days haven't changed. For me they never began, but I feel I can easily relate. I will drive twenty miles to the store to pick up a fresh new record. I enjoy the new vinyl smell, the excitement of waiting for the mail each day for that rare piece of plastic in which only 400 copies exist (Tragadiscos' Siete 7" came in the mail today, numbered 201 of 400), the physical experience of placing the needle on on the record and watching it spin. Those feelings are nostalgic, reminding me of my pubescent days when I would put giant headphones on and carefully place albums by the Beach Boys and Beatles on the record player so I could tap my foot along to the harmonies and watch the records turn round 'n round like a hypnotic device telling me one day my record collection would grow to an impressive size, my obsession with music unlimited.

Nostalgia is present for many in the Matinee tribute as well. The songs speak for themselves, bringing forth the positive side of each Matinee artist and combining it with the wisdom and genius of the Moz. The Pines create a haunting version of "Ask" with the rich female vocals of Pamela Berry. The rendition of “I Know It's Over” by Pale Sunday enhances the morose song with Fabricio Cantoni's sullen vocals. The Lucksmiths' duet of "There Is A Light & It Never Goes Out" adds Karen Morcombe on female vocals to create a song both mystical and romantic, despite morbid and tragic lyrics. Pipas mixes a light echoing guitar over a prominent bassline in "The Night Has Opened My Eyes." The Would-Be-Goods version of "Back To The Old House" is breathtakingly minimalistic. The Snowdrops recorded a live version of "Bigmouth Strikes Again," using the 12-String guitar and reverberated vocals to their full potential.

Each song on this album warrants pages of comparisons and contrasts to the originals, lists of influences The Smiths had on all the bands... there is so much behind the art, the words printed on the inner covers, the look and feel and smell of the CD, and how everything ties back into the impact of the The Smiths upon the world. There is just not enough time to cover it all. If you buy only one tribute album in your life, make it Matinee Records' Tribute to the Smiths. Make it Romantic & Square is Hip & Aware.

Read a FensePost reviews of A Taste Of The High Life and England Made Me by Lovejoy; Staring At The Sky, Friendless Summer, and A Hiccup In Your Happiness by The Lucksmiths; and Mad World by The Snowdrops.