DMB releases first studio album in three years -- Electric guitars and a new pop-oriented attitude leave many fans weary of Dave's latest
By GEOFFREY RAHIE
Scene Music Critic
The Dave Matthews Band has always been known as an unusual musical ensemble lead by the unusual acoustic guitar strumming of leader Dave Matthews. Early critics jumped all over the band's freewheeling jam style and complained about the group's tendency to be long-winded. Everyday, DMB's first studio release in almost three years, throws all of these past reservations outside the window.
The band decided to experiment on Everyday, and change up their typical rock/folk act. The album's departure from precious DMB style can be attributed to Matthews' new preference for electric guitar, Glen Ballard's tight pop control, and the sparse use of violinist Boyd Tinsley and sax/flute man Leroi Moore.
The changes create mixed results for Everyday. The album's first guitar phrase is the first clue that Everyday is going to be different. The dirty electric guitar tone on "I Did It" is a far cry from vintage DMB and the sing-along chorus is more suited for TRL than a college dorm room. But at least the band is trying to branch out and change their sound. Life is all about taking chances, and the beginning of this record shows that this band is not backing down from making some adjustments.
"So Right," one of the higher points of the album, relies on Matthews' funkiest guitar riff to date and Moore's booming contra bass clarinet. The song builds up to a climax where Moore plays an appropriate sax solo, one of only two open instrumental solos in the album — the other honor goes to Carlos Santana on "Mother Father." The absence of sax solos might disappoint die-hard fans, but in general, Moore is used perfectly on this album. While there were complaints of too much sax on previous records, Moore's work is focused and perfectly placed.
The same cannot be said for the violin work of Tinsley. A perennial crowd favorite at DMB live shows, Tinsley holds a small supporting role on Everyday, contributing no solos to the set and basically playing distantly in the background. In fact, most of his work cannot be appreciated until the listener hears the album for the first time though headphones. His biggest contribution is on "Fool to Think," which also happens to be the album's best track. Ballard used many effects, including wah-wah on Tinsley's instrument, but the final product is pretty disappointing. Tinsley, who used to be a vital part of this group, is reduced to a spot player on this effort.
Ballard also undermines the work of Carter Beauford and Stefan Lessard. While Matthews and Ballard share writing credits on all 12 songs, Ballard is solely responsible for all of the arrangements. In a nutshell, Ballard basically told the rest of the band what to play on the record. The rhythm section could have been handled by the drummer and bassist from Hootie and the Blowfish for all we know. The bass parts are relatively simplistic, as per usual DMB, but the drumming is just sad. Beauford is known for putting his stamp on tunes such as "Two-Step," but not a single track reveals his influence on Everyday.
For what it's worth, Matthews really shows maturity on this record, both as a guitarist and vocalist. His guitar work on this album reveals influences ranging from the Police to James Taylor. He croons on some songs and applies a sinister inflection on others such as "What You Are." The lyrics on the record are either beautiful or just cheesey. The desperation in "Fool to Think" feels so real and the emotion in "The Space Between" really picks the record up. But for every beautiful lyric on this album, there is an equally stupid line. Some highlights include "Why do I beg like a child for your candy?" from the horrendous "Angel" and "Spread the love you got, you got the love" from "I Did It." There are no captivating lyrical pieces on this disc as there were on previous releases — no take-charge anthems like "Lie In Our Graves" or heart-felt love songs like "Crush."
This disc is a pop album. And that's pretty much a mixture of the good and the bad. The good thing is that there are no other groups right now making pop albums like this. Bands like Aerosmith try to stay on the cutting edge by collaborating with such high profile acts as Nellie and Brittany Spears, but when push comes to shove they are writing the same songs that they wrote 15 years ago. At least DMB is trying hard to make an album that appeals to the masses without playing into industry standards. How many pop acts write titles like "Dreams of Our Fathers?"
The bad thing about this album is that this band is capable of so much more. Jerry Seinfeld always said it is best to leave the audience wanting more. Everyday definitely leaves the listener wanting more, but it's hardly for the best. There's no smooth transition between any two songs. Where Before These Crowded Streets felt like a unified work, Everyday is all disjointed. A witty ending to "When the World Ends" is ruined by the immediate start of "The Space Between" for example. And that's not even mentioning the horrible order of tracks. "So Right," a perfect opener candidate, is buried in the middle of the album while "Everyday" ends the album with a very confused feeling. And the individual talents of these five men are not allowed to blossom. Perhaps the release should have been called The Dave Matthews and Glen Ballard Duet as it is not the work of a band.
Despite all of its flaws, Everyday does a satisfactory job of delivering some good tunes. Sure this album is probably the band's least inspired, but the experimentation is commendable.
Everyday proves that Matthews is in fact pretty competent on guitar. The problem is we all know the other four guys are more than adequate on their respective instruments.
People can always go to bands like Creed if they are simply looking for some easily forgettable ear candy. The Dave Matthews Band was known for writing songs that really made you think. All good things must come to an end.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, March 6, 2001
