After almost three years of milking the multi-platinum record Before These Crowded Streets, the Dave Matthews Band, with its most recent release, Everyday, has once again proven the worthiness of its standing amongst the elite artists of the music industry. Although the "new" sound in the album at first faced skepticism from DMB purists, the album will prove worthy of its anticipated billing.
During their recent summer tour, DMB introduced a variety of new songs to their fans. "JTR", "Grey Street," and "Busted Stuff" were to be included on the album, among other highly acclaimed tracks, filling a docket that was originally scheduled to debut in stores sometime in November 2000. This was to be the fourth studio album that the band would release (in addition to its major-label masterpieces, DMB has also produced an independent album, entitled Remember Two Things) under the production of Steve Lilywhite.
Unfortunately, the band was dissatisfied with their output for the much-anticipated album and decided, in accordance with the advice of their manager Coren Capshaw, that a change was necessary. Not wanting to disrupt the tight connection of the band members (Carter Beauford, Stephan Lessard, Dave Matthews, Leroi Moore and Boyd Tinsley), they decided that the most logical decision would be to part ways with Lilywhite, their longtime producer who brought them to their present-day fame.
DMB quickly chose to work with the famously commercial producer Glen Ballard, who has worked with such musical acts as Aerosmith and David Gray. Within days, Matthews and Ballard underwent an expedited process of writing songs, laying out an entire album within one week. After writing lyrics to these melodies, DMB began recording an album that would indicate an interesting change in their previous 'blue grass/ jam band' sound to a tighter, tougher aesthetic.
But why the sudden change? Although it was evident that the beloved band was reaching extreme heights of popularity, filling to capacity some of the largest venues in the nation within minutes (including three consecutive nights at Giants Stadium), all the members felt a sense of negativity towards - and lack of enthusiasm from - their output. Unless they made a change soon, they expected a quick downfall to the fame of the unique band in the near future. Songs such as "Diggin a Ditch" and "Grace Is Gone," said it all: the band needed to change its look before its success ran out.
There are many interesting things to note about this new approach. On Everyday, the most obvious change is the use of an electric and baritone guitar by Matthews. Widely known for his remarkable rhythmic play, Matthews has always been known for his dancing and jamming with an acoustic guitar, either six- or twelve-string. But, once Ballard introduced Matthews to an electric guitar, Matthews changed his ways, and, by extension, the ways of DMB. Although Matthews has incorporated an acoustic style of play into some of the tracks, most songs don't feature this previous staple of the DMB sound. Evident from the first song on the album, "I Did It," the first single off the new release, it appears that a new, 'rock' style has been adopted by the band. Instead of using many of the 'interesting' chord progressions that Matthews would often conjure up, "I Did It" features the use of fifth chords, a typical element of basic rock.
Along with this new style of play came a change in their propensity for jamming, which, in the case of previous albums, sometimes led to songs that lasted as long as ten minutes. While the violin and reed instruments were often used in solos throughout past albums, they have now taken a back seat and have become mere background instruments behind the rhythm of the guitar, drums, and bass. The first solo on the album is a short interlude by the saxophone in "So Right," which is its fifth track. While their previously released studio albums averaged six-and-a-half minutes per song, Everyday averages a mere four-and-a-half minutes per song, a noteworthy decline.
Although the majority of the album was written with Ballard, there are a couple of sections that bear a resemblance to some old DMB standards. In "Dreams of Our Fathers," the band plays an abbreviated jam that is quite similar to that of "Little Things," an unreleased song that appears on Live at Luther College. The title track of the album was also derived from a previously unreleased song, entitled "#36."
It is not surprising to see many listen to this album with fear that the band has lost its traditional flavor, but the average DMB fan needn't worry: this album is merely a small taste of the huge feast that will be revealed this coming summer. As Ballard has said, an album has the sole purpose of introducing the listeners to new music, while live concerts are used for improvisation and jamming. The Dave Matthews Band will kick off their 2001 summer tour in late April exactly where they left off this past winter: making the best of what's around.