“I’ve Been Waiting” – Matthew Sweet
(Words/music: Matthew Sweet, available on Girlfriend, Zoo / Volcano Records 1991) 

Most when recalling Matthew Sweet’s early to mid ‘90s heyday will use the phrase “power pop” somewhere within the first few breaths.  It’s an apt legacy, as Sweet wrote some terrifically snappy songs that rub elbows with the genre’s best.  However, the genre label usually refers to harmony and melody heavy pop music with a bit of an edge, and many of Sweet’s songs come with a full-fledged guitar army behind them.  In particular, the Girlfriend album featured dueling lead guitars from experimental guitar heroes Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd (not to mention capable playing from singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole and Sweet himself).  On some songs, the title track in particular, the dual lines seize center stage, wrestling with each other overtly.  However, Sweet knew how to integrate these guitarists’ abilities into his less aggressive songs as well, skillfully toeing the line between calculate restraint and reigning in his virtuosos.

“I’ve Been Waiting” typifies Sweet’s ability to make the complex feel simple.  At first glance, it’s a bright song about desire (or lust, if you want to take it that far), yet Sweet has far more moving pieces.  Take the opening phrase and the three separate guitar lines – an acoustic guitar at the bottom of the arrangement, the chiming, Byrds/R.E.M. major chord arpeggios (perhaps on a twelve string, but I’m not confident enough to pick that out by ear), and the slightly distorted lead guitar that mimics the arpeggios with a few embellishments.  This is before Sweet starts singing or multi-tracking harmonies as well.  Even the melody-based solo makes enough room for a few squealed-out notes near the end the end, only to give way to the interlocking arpeggios in the final verse.  Where other pop songwriters might use the guitar lines as a way to stitch together melodic phrases, Sweet weaves an entire tapestry out of the guitars on the track, wrapping his melody and everything else in their chiming, churning, and finely crafted sound.

More on Matthew Sweet: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm