Top 50: 30-21
By Jake Vigliotti
11/10/10
To see the previous 10 selections, click here.
Dave once said, summing up his comments, that One Sweet World was this sweet little acoustic tune that Carter funked up. In that matter, it’s a perfect example of DMB music. Sweet melodic rhythm and lyrics, with a funky drum beat. The song is classic DMB.
On the song tour, it’s what we consider the first Dave-written song. It’s certainly one of the earliest he finished (with the assistance of former The Deal guitarist/singer Mark Roebuck), but it might not be the very first. Technically, it was a Tribe Of Heaven song before being a DMB song. But the song that Dave’s sister dug so much as Dave played over and over in the late 1980’s is liked by a whole lot of fans still. It is always a crowd pleaser live; getting a big roar when Dave introduces it simply by stating, “I’ve got a sister named Jane, and this is The Song That Jane Likes.”
This is another song where voters split their votes between two versions; the Lillywhite Sessions didn’t get as many votes as the Busted Stuff/live performances, but one has to wonder if the original form of it still isn’t more popular. Big Eyed Fish has always been a special song to fans; it was chants for it in 2001 that resurrected it from its in-limbo state on the LWS to being performed live. Even today it’s still a crowd pleaser. Although the votes didn’t express it, general consensus is the original version is stronger than the current form, but not too many fans are turning their noses up at it in any form.
This song was the first from the 2000 tour to open, close, and be the final encore song of a show. Yet surprisingly, JTR was left off the Busted Stuff album. Then in the mid 2000’s it disappeared from set lists. Its return is always welcomed at shows, as illustrated by its high placing among fans; both from the internet world and the more casual fan. JTR remains a fan favorite. Yet surprisingly, it still does not have truly ‘set’ lyrics.
This song has for years (but not always) identified by Dave as the first he wrote. Well, that might not be true either, but the first two songs he ever wrote both remain popular with fans, and both are in the top 30 overall. I’ll Back You Up hasn’t been played full-band (like everyone having a part) since 1991, yet remains one of the most popular ‘slow’ songs from the band. Fans today consider it a rare treat to hear it live.
It’s hard to imagine that in 1993, after an ending chorus was added to the song, Dave would instruct fans to sing along with the “Love Baby” outro. No need for that now, Granny is the most popular unreleased song by DMB. Fans across the spectrum placed it solidly in the top 30, with a few top 10 votes as well. DMB wanted it to be the first single from Under The Table And Dreaming; instead it didn’t make the album. It didn’t matter, fans still took to it, and now, Dave doesn’t need to instruct anyone on when to sing.
Dave once said that it was Tim Reynolds eastern style playing that influenced Minarets; fitting that it has made it back into rotation now that Tim plays with the band full-time. The song has gone through a few changes early (including a primeval scream by Dave to open the song, and a harmonica accompaniment by Peter) , and still evolving . Not too many band will take a 20 year old song and change the intro, but DMB did just that in 2010. No complaints from fans, it seems everyone is happy to have Minarets back.
It was 1993 when fans first chanted for Halloween. And they still do it today. The shows in the decade of the 2000’s with it are always special, as it was mainly a rare treat. Then the unthinkable happened; in 2009 it received 7 plays during the summer, the most since 1998 for one year. Ask any fan who has heard it when their first Halloween was, they’ll probably recall it with the detail of their first kiss, or first other thing, if you know what I mean. Structurally, it hasn’t changed a lot since its October 31, 1992 first appearance, but the lyrics seam to move about to fit Dave’s mood, and the jam has been altered slightly. All fans seem to like the song, it was only left off a very few ballots completely.
The song changed greatly from its first appearance, in July 1993 as Any Noise/An ti Noise. The full Say Goodbye version debuted in October 1993, and has been a fan favorite since. No song has probably such fluidity in the lyrics than Say Goodbye. Even to this day, it’s not uncommon for a lyrical twist to appear in the song. Fans consistently ranked the song in the 20’s.
The hauntingly beautiful song received a first place vote from one fan, and placed in the top 10 on quite a few other ballots. However, as much as some fans love it, others don’t have a care for it. It is highly popular with the on-line fans, whereas the casual fans have little interest. It is probably the song with the biggest difference between the internet crowd and the non-board folk. Who would’ve ever thought that a song about Jesus would rank so highly with fans in this day and age?
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