My DAVE MATTHEWS BAND article

[amycat412]

DMB is Back

Anticipation runs high for the Dave Matthews Band's sixth major release, Busted Stuff.

By Amycat, July 10, 2002

Disclaimer: I feel I must disclose to you, my fine readers, that it is a generally accepted and known fact that I am a Davehead. I have been accused of being a professional groupie, and this will no doubt color my objectivity on the subject of the Dave Matthews Band.

On July 16, the Dave Matthews Band will release Busted Stuff, the follow-up LP to last year's controversial release, Everyday. By all accounts, Everyday was a hit. It soared to the top of the charts, bringing in a legion of newer, mostly younger fans. It spawned several radio hits and fueled a summer-long tour that ended up as one of the industry's highest grossing acts of 2001.

But the Glen Ballard-produced release did not strike a chord with the DMB's hardcore following. Some fans critical of the album thought the days of 20-minute jam sessions were over. The album the DMB had been working on, called Summer So Far by the band and The Lillywhite Sessions by fans (in honor of ousted long-time producer Steve Lillywhite), found listeners via the internet and garnered a huge fan base. These "Lillywhite" tunes were DMB songs. These were the songs road-tested and beloved.

Since the early days of the greatest band ever to grace us (see disclaimer), the boys have always tried out new songs on tour. By the time studio records were released, the fans already knew the songs. Daveheads were not prepared for this time-tested and popular method of debuting material to end. But with the advent of Glen Ballard, it did. There were no jam sessions, no spaces for Boyd to tear it up on the violin, no spaces for Carter to go nuts on the drums. No Hendrix-like bass riff from Stefan, and no soulful, melancholy sax grooves from Leroi. Most disturbingly, there was very little wailing from Dave. Fans LOVE Dave's howling and wailing and grunting and groaning--it is an integral part of the whole experience.

With Glen Ballard, beloved road-tested hits like "Bartender" and "Grace is Gone" were scrapped. Instead, fans were served up tightly constructed and crisp pop ditties lasting, on average, three minutes. "The Space Between" and "I Did It" were two such hits off the album.

Now, I will admit the Ballard record is by no means my favorite Dave Matthews release. 1998's Before These Crowded Streets is a far superior album. But I will also admit Everyday was a fine album, and had it been released by, say Matchbox Twenty or the Counting Crows, it would likely have been one of my favorites of the year. As it was, The Lillywhite Sessions got more play from me and was widely favored over Everyday by the critics as well.

With the July 16 release of Busted Stuff, the band is making a return to their roots. Taking songs from the Lillywhite Sessions and re-working them, this release showcases the band's musicianship, but in a more sophisticated manner. The Lillywhite tunes were dark, and chronicled Dave's publicized depression at the time. Now, the re-worked "Lillywhites" on Busted Stuff are smoother, groovier, funkier, not dark. The band has achieved the evolution of their sound they craved with Everyday, but this time, the fans are evolving with them.

These songs were road tested, some going back to the mid-90s. The two new tunes, "Where Are You Going" and "You Never Know", were in heavy rotation during this year's spring and summer tour. The DMB fansite message boards are in frenzied anticipation of next week's release. Thread topics such as "Why Busted Stuff will be DMB's most critically acclaimed album ever" abound.

Look, I could go on forever about Dave Matthews and how amazing they are. Basically, its like this - go buy the album. You will not be disappointed. One of the key ingredients of the DMB's success is the emotion evident in their music. Emotion was largely absent from Everyday. With Busted Stuff, it's back in a big way.