Blue Sky on Mars explained

Blue Sky on Mars
Type:	Studio album
Artist:	Matthew Sweet
Cover:	msbsom.jpg
Released:	March 25, 1997
Recorded:	October 1996
Studio:	Southern Tracks (Atlanta, Georgia) Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California)
Genre:	Alternative rock
Length:	36:29
Label:	Zoo Entertainment
Producer:	Brendan O'Brien, Matthew Sweet
Prev Title:	100% Fun
Prev Year:	1995
Next Title:	In Reverse
Next Year:	1999

Blue Sky on Mars is the sixth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1997.

Cover

The cover of the album features an image by Viking 1, the first spacecraft to land on Mars; the album's liner notes include additional imagery of the planet's landscape as taken by the spacecraft on July 20, 1976. The text on the cover was done by fantastic artist Roger Dean, best known for his work on album covers for bands such as Yes.^[1] The album's title comes from the tour in the film Total Recall.

Release

The album was met with little commercial success, but favorable reviews. Critic Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B", writing that it "matched his usual sugary melodies to denser production, hinting at everything from the Beach Boys to '80s new wave", and adding that "[Sweet's] power pop still has the knack".^[2] The A.V. Club wrote that the album contained "nice, sugary three-minute pop singles that instantly lodge themselves in your cranium", adding that it is "a slight but worthy addition to his terrific catalog".^[3]

Details

The song "Hollow" was featured in the film The Game, and "Come to California" was featured in the film Nancy Drew.

Track listing

All songs written by Matthew Sweet except "Back To You" written by Ric Menck and Matthew Sweet.

1. "Come to California" - 3:31
2. "Back to You" - 3:10
3. "Where You Get Love" - 3:35
4. "Hollow" - 4:03
5. "Behind the Smile" - 2:23
6. "Until You Break" - 4:50
7. "Over It" - 1:37
8. "Heaven and Earth" - 2:32
9. "All Over My Head" - 3:04
10. "Into Your Drug" - 2:39
11. "Make Believe" - 1:50
12. "Missing Time" - 3:15

Japanese bonus tracks

13. "If It's Happening You'll Know" - 3:10
14. "Close Inside" - 4:32
15. "Final Hour" - 3:37

Personnel

• Matthew Sweet – vocals, guitars, bass (1-11, 13-15), theremin (2, 12), synthesizers (4, 6-8), acoustic piano (6), keyboards (12, 15)
• Brendan O'Brien – acoustic piano (1, 7), keyboards (2, 11, 14, 15), synthesizers (3, 4), E-bow guitar (4), Mellotron (5, 10), guitars (5, 8, 13), electric harpsichord (6), drums (6), organ (13)
• Tony Marsico – bass (12)
• Ric Menck – drums (1, 4, 7, 9, 15)
• Stuart Johnson – drums (2, 3, 5, 8, 10-14)

Production

• Brendan O'Brien – producer, mixing
• Matthew Sweet – producer, arrangements
• Nick DiDia – engineer (1-11, 13-15)
• Caram Costanzo – second engineer (1-11, 13-15)
• David Schiffman – recording (12)
• Larry Malchose – recording assistant (12)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
• Stephanie Hughes – project coordinator
• Martyn Dean – design
• Roger Dean – lettering
• Jeff Bender – photography
• NASA/JPL – Mars photography
• Russell Carter and Cathy Lyons – management

Notes and References

1. http://www.discogs.com/Matthew-Sweet-Blue-Sky-On-Mars/release/1906781 Discogs entry for Blue Sky on Mars
2. Farber . Jim . 1997-03-28 . Blue Sky on Mars . . en-US.
3. Web site: Matthew Sweet: Blue Sky on Mars. The A.V. Club.