[NCAA1981]

I actually just busted out this album the other day, for the first time in a long time. It's important for me to point out that I was never, at any point, a Big Whiskey hater. And a couple of years later, I am still really digging it. For me, it's one of the more listenable studio efforts from the band. UTTAD gets regular rotation for me, but Crash and BTCS aren't quite as fulfilling (I love their material live, but the studio cuts just don't have as much life). I think Big Whiskey, however, is recorded as though it were live. In many instances, in fact, I think the studio cuts are stronger than any live takes I've heard (Shake Me, Seven, Alligator, Why I Am). After the severe album drought we saw for most of the 00's from DMB, Big Whiskey was a very nice departure from the drab shit. Most of it isn't as lyrically or musically profound as the what we got from the Big 3, but I find it very easy to enjoy it.


I actually didn't mind Everyday when it was first released, but a year or so later it was collecting dust on the shelf, never to be played again. I don't think I ever purchased Stand Up. And Busted Stuff, for me, just never hit the spot. I found it generally unlistenable in comparison to the LWS. But, happily, Big Whiskey stands well on its own as a pretty good album some years later.