The Dave Matthews Band ran the risk of getting stuck. Their three previous studio albums-each in its own right a dazzling musical effort- all relied heavily on the same formula. Containing elements of rock, jazz, funk and r&b, the Dave Matthews Band are hard to dislike. Catchy melodies dance in and out of structurally complex rhythms and arrangements while chart-topping singles bounce out of each album. Add to this one of the best live concert acts in recent memory and you have a band of the ages. But creatively the band was feeling stifled. On their last tour the band performed a large number of new songs all slated for release on their next album. The songs were good but the sound was very reminiscent of what we’ve heard before.
The band finished the new album with long-time producer Steve Lillywhite and set a release date for mid December 2000. Then, in a rather gutsy move, they threw the album away and started from scratch. Hiring a new producer, they re-entered the studio and in just over a week wrote and recorded 12 new tracks unlike anything they’ve done in the past. The Dave Matthews Band’s new album Everyday is set for release on Tuesday, February 27. Getting stuck is no longer a threat.
“I Did It”, the first single released from Everyday, took us by surprise. Instead of a bright acoustic guitar sweeping left to right, the track opens with a grungy, menacing electric guitar lick followed by an even grittier vocal. Is this the same band? Most definitely. They just have a new attitude. From the album’s opening track “So Right” and onward Dave Matthews Band fans have something new to get used to. With not one song breaking the five-minute barrier,
Everyday is full of quick rock songs and soulful ballads.
With songs like “The Space Between,” “Dreams of Our Fathers” and “Sleep to Dream” the Dave Matthews Band appears to be growing up. Lyrically, this is Dave at his best. On “If I Had It All” he ponders the perfect life and if he did in fact “have it all” that there would be nothing left to live for. And on “Mother Father,” a very Latin sounding track featuring none other than Carlos Santana, the singer questions the bitterness of the world that was hidden from him as a young boy.
Everyday is a much more straightforward album than we are used to hearing from this band, but that’s not to say that it’s dumbed down in anyway. Another appeal of the Dave Matthews Band is their high level of musicianship, and it is more than apparent on Everyday, just in a different way than found on their other albums. The most notable is that Dave Matthews traded in his trademark acoustic guitar for an electric. For some people this could be like Bob Dylan going electric. But hey, they got used to that too. The drums are brighter and “fatter” then ever before as the band has said in recent interviews and don’t worry, there are plenty of shrilling violin crescendos and swelling horns to keep listeners pacified.
It will be very interesting to see how fans respond to the new sound once the album hits shelves on the 27th. Hopefully people will be able to support one of the few great bands in existence today, but as anyone in this business should know, fans are fickle. The Dave Matthews Band will start their tour of Everyday sometime in April and will be coming to Philadelphia for a rumored three shows on June 22.
