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After looking back over the last few months’ worth of Saturday Morning Tuneage installments, it occurs to me that I’ve done you a bit of a disservice. Ever since late September, I’ve been telling you about music I’ve discovered and managed to enjoy – and as a result, I’ve had a lot of good things to say.

This week, it’s time to give you the whole picture – because the truth is, not everything that hits my headphones ends up on my good side. And sometimes, the reasons are anything but what you’d expect…

In the April 12th edition of Saturday Morning Tuneage, I mentioned that I was looking forward to the release of The Weepies’ new album, Hideaway. The day after it hit eMusic, I managed to squeeze in a few minutes of music procurement time, and downloaded the 14 tracks. Honestly, I enjoyed what songs I managed to play on a first-listen: the melodies were catchy, the lyrics made sense, the performances were enjoyable – vocals and instrumentals alike – and nearly everything that attracted me to Say I am You was present and accounted-for.

But the music – as a whole – was just … lacking something. Despite how good the content was, it left me unsatisfied when I finally set down my Grados and padded my way to bed. It had been a long day … maybe it would sound better after a good night’s sleep?

After giving Hideaway a good second listen, I think I’ve found the culprit. I’ve scoured the web – from the Weepies’ site, to Wikipedia, to Amazon to Gracenote – but I can’t find his name. Maybe you can though: his name will be immediately preceded by the words “Produced by”.

Hideaway really is beautiful. Honestly. The emotion that permeates every sound on the album just makes you feel warm. Deb and Steve’s voices are gorgeously complimentary – and they just sound awesome together. It must have been an absolute spectacle to hear when it was recorded … but sadly, that’s where it seems to have ended. The recording is flat and un-detailed. Coming through the little ear buds that came with your iPod, I’m sure this wouldn’t distract too much. But listening on a system with any sort of fidelity, it’s hard not to notice just how downright boring Hideaway’s sound is. There’s a bit of dimension to the guitars, but the vocals, bass and percussion have a flat, monaural sound that belies the wonderful work that Nettwerk has done with other artists (not the least of whom is the truly-beyond-criticism-of-any-kind Sarah MacLachlan). It might be this disparity that’s most disappointing about many of Hideaway’s songs – you get excited, hearing some detail and staging as the guitars begin, but as soon as the vocals start, you’re plunged promptly back into disappointment.

Hideaway will certainly hold onto a long-time spot in my music collection. It’ll make wonderful background music, and I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable when my iPod meets my Sennheiser HD202s. But if the Grados or the B&W 602s in our living room are in the picture, I think I’ll be sticking with Sarah. And, despite its technical shortcomings, Hideaway is still well worth buying. You can do so DRM-free at Amazon MP3 or eMusic.