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Old 06-10-2018, 01:02 PM   #280
Dodo36
 
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Re: Rate the Album

After several listens, I'm still not sure.

There are songs that I definitely like a lot, but it most feels like a Dave Matthews record occasionally featuring members of the DMB live band. There are songs I could do without, but overall nothing I would feel cheated if I saw at a concert with.

I can tell it's Carter on the drums, but there are only flashes in the grand scheme of things of his brilliance. Fonzi doesn't have much of a spotlight, either. There are places where I feel like I hear Boyd's violin buried way deep in the mix, and one of the harmonies on "Come On Come On" I could swear was his vocal ... but it's so buried that I can't really tell. If his violin really was scrubbed from the album as many are saying, it hasn't left a sonic void in the mix or was replaced with something else. I have the same issue with Tim's guitar as I've had the past few records - he's gone from playing in an ensemble texture capacity ( I guess "Tripping Billies" might be the most glaring example of what I mean) to playing straight up lead guitar. It's not bad, but it doesn't leave a lot of room anymore for what we consider that DMB sound. The few places I can really feel Jeff and Rashawn shine are all too brief.

I probably like Again And Again the best at the moment. Closely followed by B&BB and VITR. Then She, SC, CS, and TGIY. The live intro to IOY bothers me when it shifts, there's stark pressure shift when the live portion leaves the mix. I would have hoped more from the guest spot on Come Tomorrow, it just doesn't seem to add a lot. HOO, DYR, COCO, and WIW I don't mind, but probably won't consistantly come back to after that new car smell has worn off. Bkdkdkdd just feels out of place, almost feels like the band was covering Stargard's "Which Way Is Up."

To give some perspective on my cred, I started listening in late '95 when someone gave me a copy of R2T. I followed the '99, '00, and '04 tours around for about half the stops (just haven't bothered to fill that in on my profile. After BWGK, I sort of fell back. It was hard to wrap my head around a lack of Roi. I've paid attention since, but not actively. I'm not super familiar with the live versions of most of these tunes so I didn't have any expectations going in. I knew them, but not the specific arrangements people enjoyed..

I feel like it's a great Dave Matthews record, but as a DMB album I just don't know.
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