If Bowie appeals to my brain,
Dave Matthews Band appeals to my heart.
Maybe not like this though....
I had to stay within the band output, so Dave's Some Devil
album couldn't be included.
So the following are what I choseto represent my
Top 5 DMB albums.
Crash
I listened to this album a lot.
It was on regular rotation, and sometimes nonstop,
while travelling across Iowa during my Iowa State
Singers and Jazz Band summer tour.
So, definitely some nostalgia.
Every track on this album has become classics for Dave fans.
Crash Into Me and So Much to Say got a ton of radio play,
and Tripping Billies has become a concert staple.
Two Step, #41, and Say Goodbye are still fan favorites.
I personally love Drive In Drive Out and Let You Down
Live at Piedmont Park
Not technically an album, but this band is so
well known for their live output, that I felt it was appropriate to
include a live recording of an absolutely amazing show.
This show was recorded at Atlanta, Georgia, in front of 80,000
fans to raise funds to expand the city park.
It's a great setlist, with a lot of energy, stage banter, and a
guest appearance with Gregg Allman and Warren Haynes.
This is usually my first choice when reaching for a live show
to jam out with.
Before These Crowded Streets
This is another album that I listened to a lot
while falling in love with the band.
Another set of great songs that have become classics.
The opening crushes it with Pantala Naga Pampa
(a tune I remember "wasting time" thinking about what
those words meant) and going into Rapunzel with is a
straight up sexy tune. The Last Stop and Don't
Drink the Water scratched my world beat itch while
prodding me out of my complacent post-high school mindset.
This album probably takes the place as my favorite
album as I never skip any of the songs, and they
still hold my attention with their moods and message.
Busted Stuff
Back in The Day (aka 2001), there was a whole kerfuffle about some songs that
were leaked out before the band was ready to release them.
The Lillywhite Sessions morphed into Busted Stuff.
This is another collection of songs that really hit home for me.
You Never Know, Captain, and Raven were always my
favorite little "trio" within the album.
Grey Street, Big Eyed Fish, and Bartender have since
become tour classics.
 |
| I just couldn't copy this one. I'm really not that good of an artist. |
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
This album was released shortly after the death of founding
member and primo saxophonist, LeRoi Moore.
Sadly, Roi died before I saw the band live for the first time.
I missed him by about a year.
This album, recorded in my beloved New Orleans
(you can see the city bursting with life on the cover art, with Roi
featured on a majestic float in a parade through the streets),
has tinges of sadness through the joy. Much like New Orleans itself.
It also features the last recorded contributions from LeRoi, which
was subsequently taken over by the ever competent Jeff Coffin.
Funny the Way It Is captures happiness through unfortunate
circumstances. Squirm rages through a primal scream.
Alligator Pie is post-Katrina Lower Ninth despair wrapped in a hopeful package.
Time Bomb confronts the mindless believers.
You & Me has become a tour regular, happily serenading us into hope for the future.
Close runners up include Under the Table and Dreaming, Remember Two Things,
and the Central Park Concert. I've had the fortune of seeing 9 shows, and hope
to see a few more before the world ends. The latest album,
Come Tomorrow features some new stuff that seems to go in
a new direction, while staying true to the band's roots and sound.
Remember two things:
Don't litter
Call your mother
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