Matt Nathanson

Bay area musician Matt Nathanson was nice enough to take a break from a family vacation to speak with RIFF about his newest release, a song-for-song cover of U2’s Achtung Baby (timed with the 30th anniversary of that album). For Achtung Matty, Nathanson reunited virtually with long-time collaborator Aaron Tap. The two “threw paint at the wall” to see what would stick for the recreation.

They started acoustically before adding a rhythm section. At the same time, Nathanson has kept busy with livestream shows and recording.

“Achtung Baby … is my favorite record of all time. For me, nothing touches it,” Nathanson said. “So I decided to try and tackle the whole thing. Because of COVID, I’m not touring. I have my own studio now, and it’s been a fruitful time of creativity; I’ve been in there just making things. I’m such a nerd for music; I’d done Pyromattia [an album of Def Leppard covers] and [live album] Postcards from Chicago, both of which were celebrating other people’s music. I also did it because I wanted to try and break the songs apart as a learning tool, to kind of figure them out.”

RIFF: Was there anything that surprised you about the Achtung Baby songs when you went to record them?

Matt Nathanson: It’s such a crazy thing to say, but I realized how important U2 is to U2 records! Covering a Bob Dylan song or covering a traditional singer-songwriter type of songs with that kind of structure, that stuff is easier. But when you’re covering something like U2, that’s so based on the power of their delivery, a lot of it is about attitude.

I feel like I did it well sometimes; I might have missed the mark here and there, but the whole time I was always awestruck by the power of that band. Trying to cover a U2 record, it became really apparent how much of them is infused into everything they do. If I’m tackling a U2 song at a show, the live setting can cover a multitude of sins. Getting into the mechanics of the song and making it work is one thing, but U2 have so much swagger that trying to inhabit their songs is daunting. No one else can do what they do, and I’ve always been in awe of them. This project really challenged me, and honestly, reinvigorated me.

Did you record them in order, or did you pick which ones you were going to record first? Were some more difficult than others?

Nathanson: Aaron and I tackled the ones that felt the most right first and then tried to break down and find our way into the ones that didn’t. There were a couple that really changed shape once we got them to where we thought we wanted them, and then I’d listen back and be like, “Oh no, we missed it on this one.” Like, “Mysterious Ways”—that’s a really strange song because it’s so based on the bass line. We recorded it, and then when we listened back to it, I was like, “Oh man, what we need here is gospel singers,” so we reimagined it from what it was to what it became. Whether or not we nailed it, it was fun to have that vision and pursue it. Basically, it was just two music nerds just having the time of their lives.

Do you have favorites on this album?

Nathanson: I’ve got my favorites on the record, for sure. “Acrobat” is one of my favorite U2 songs of all time, and I feel like we really nailed that one. “Love is Blindness” is another. It was fun to break down my favorite record of all time and see the tendrils of inspiration that I didn’t even know existed. Just taking apart that record was a master class in record-making. I’m not saying I’m ever going to make something that amazing, but it educated me in such a profound way.

Have you played any of these songs live?

Nathanson: No; in the past, I was totally intimidated by the songs on this album. There are U2 songs that I’ve done live, like “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Sweetest Thing,” but I’ve always felt that Achtung Baby was done perfectly, so I never even wanted to go there. I’ll cover a Whitesnake or Springsteen song—there are things that are within my wheelhouse, whether it be the goofy fun stuff or the singer-songwriter stuff. But there’s certain bands that I’m more intimidated by. Doing these cover records is kind of a nice way to remind myself I can do this. It helps me recalibrate and figure out who I am as an artist.

You’ve played some new original songs on livestreams. When can we expect an album of new material from you?

Nathanson: I don’t know. It all depends because of COVID still being a thing for live music, ticket sales kind of being in the dumps and shows being canceled. I’ve got so many songs now. I’ve never had the luxury of having a backlog like this before. Because I’m not touring, I was just creating and writing all the time on Zoom. To try to sell a record in this climate and then tour, it is tough because people are still hesitant, and they might say, “Eh, I’ll wait ’til the next tour.”

If I can afford to wait a little while, I think it’s going to be a much more fun experience, rather than putting something out in this weird vacuum that still exists. The world is getting somewhat back to normal, but the music industry isn’t, so I’m kind of waiting to see how we get through the holidays and how the new year shapes up.

Were you impacted by the vinyl shortage; is that part of the calculus?

Yeah, we’re still trying to get the Modern Love anniversary edition pressed that we took orders for in June. Small potatoes problems, for sure, but it’s been a wild ride. There was a window in the summer where everyone thought COVID was over—that was a really great window to put records out and sell tickets. Then all of a sudden, the Delta variant happened and people were scared again, and everything shut down again. I’m essentially a small business and dependent on folks showing up to see me play.

Any big plans for the holidays?

Nathanson: We’re just going to chill, and I can’t wait. Ever since I was a kid, being half-Jewish, half-Catholic, all of December is usually like a celebration—hanging out and giving and getting gifts and chilling, so I look forward to having a semi-normal holiday this year. I’ve got a livestream event happening Dec. 16 and 17, which is gonna be fun—two nights, two completely different sets, pulling from Achtung Matty, my back catalog, maybe some new songs and the holiday record [Farewell December]; it’s really just a fun way to get together with Aaron in a room and sing real loud, and I can’t wait.

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