Review Summary: The least liked album by the jam band of Dave Matthews doesn't disappoint me. Feels stiff, sure, but who doesn't want a love song every now and then? For the laughs, at least?
I thought about being pretentious as always, but I won't. I bought this album for less than $5, so I didn't expect much out of it, since the only I had heard about this band was probably "The Space Between", contained in this album, the song with which I got to know about the existence of this band, so I decided it was a good idea to buy it. Almost two years ago. Now that I got around revising my whole "collection" of music, I see that this album is not half bad.
WARNINGS:Tojes and all his reviewing crew are not always into listening a whole discography in order to understand the artist. That being said, this is the only album by Dave Matthews and his crew I've ever listened to, so my opinion may not be at all objective, goodness-wise.
The album, after this short commercial break, feels slightly confused from a sentimental standpoint: It starts with a really upbeat, high-energy song
I did it, which is the song through which I knew of the band (but disregarded them as trying to be too comical, maybe. I don't know, I was a young confused male). But to be quite honest, the song that captures the feeling of the album has got to be
The Space Between, the song that made me think "oh well, the album may be good". I don't like slow, romantic songs because I'm a bitter, old, bastard young male, nonetheless, if I had to pick a song if I wanted to get a girl, or return to her arms, I'd probably choose this song, because it's just so... awesomely written. But there's not a single mood in the album that you can settle for. Nonetheless there's no confusion between the most enrgetic songs and the calmer ones, but I feel more attracted for songs like
If I Had It All, Sleep To Her, or
Angel, because they just excel at creating the smoother ambient, but for instance,
Everyday, another single of the album has a great ring to it, and the video is really good as well.
I can't complain musically about the album. It has a certain variety, but it's not the most eclectic collection of music.
Mother Father has a certain flamenco, latin vibe to it,
Everyday and
I did it are just straight rock music, and there's a good use of wind instruments, but I feel the keyboards are misused for the most part. Too high in the mix, not to mention they don't really add nothing new to the mix, and are kind of annoying for particular moments. Drums are always spot-on. I had been told Carter Beauford, the drummer of the band was very good, but hadn't gotten around listening to him thoroughly until I gave this album a good listen. He really adds up a lot to the groove of the band. The guitar work is simple for the most part, but it has some interesting moments here or there, for instance,
Mother Father's solo has Carlos Santana as a guest musician, so good times.
There's nothing lyrically about the album that I enjoy, other than
The Space Between, but that's personal bias. Otherwise, the lyrics are fulfilling, they are in my opinion standard love songs, with some shards of talent sprinkled to them. Then again, I critique lyrics as if they all had to be the most complex pieces ever created, so I may be wrong, from a lyrical stand point.
Dreams of our Fathers has a very cute theme. It's about growing up, and it's nice and all, but I don't like how it works with the music. Actually, it's my least favorite song in the album. The first stanza of
So Right is pretty nifty, but I have a problem with the choruses. They are meant to be catchy. I'll have to reconsider the way I perceive lyrics. But anyway, songs like
Angel are dead to me from the moment they are named angel.
If I had it All is also pretty silly. The lyrical strength of the album is located in the first section of it, and it goes kind of Downhill from about half of it till it ends, except maybe
Mother Father, but that's also part of my bias.
All in all, I like the album. I like the mellow songs, and in my opinion has one or two filler moments, and being such a well known band, not to say they are mainstream, it must be considered I felt a couple songs are too long (and I like progressive rock, go figure) and drag on too long, but hey. If you are in love, if you are a helpless romantic, Dave Matthews Band is YOUR band. Very Good for my standards, and of course, all my reviewing crew supports this, so that's all that's to it.
And yes, for those who know more about Dave Matthews and his band, I'd love to listen to earlier albums, and make a comparison. For the casual listener, I think it's a good release.
- tojeam reviü crü
