Pros: The DMB we know and love is back, acoustic guitars, solos and all...
Cons: Depressing, lethargic, obsessed with death. These songs shouldn't all be on the same album.
The Bottom Line: You griped about Everyday, you whined for Dave to release the Lillywhite Sessions, he obliged. Now shut up and let him do things his own way from now on!
divad23's Full Review: Busted Stuff by Dave Matthews Band
I’ve determined that I’m not worthy to be called a true Dave Matthews fan. His band’s new album, Busted Stuff, sounds much like a broken record to me.
I guess the fact that I liked a lot of the non-acoustic tracks on their last studio album, Everyday, should have tipped me off. Either that or the fact that I’m not as keen on their sprawling, double-disc live albums as most of the fans are. Don’t take that the wrong way - I still agree with most other fans that everything before Everyday was better. Somehow, this band with its grassroots following, interesting blend of folk and jazz instrumentation, and penchant for long, meandering jam sessions didn’t sound right churning out three-minute, electrically driven pop songs. But you know what? It sounded better than the stuff they didn’t release.
Yeah, you heard me right. I didn’t think the collection of songs known as “The Lillywhite Sessions” was that great. Sure, I eagerly downloaded all 12 tracks as soon as I found out they were online, just like the rest of the fans did, but I never thought they were meant to be regarded as a finished product. Neither did the band, okay? So sue me if I thought the shiny, Glen Ballard-produced collection of pop songs was more enjoyable to listen to than the mostly downcast collection of studio demos that leaked out in the midst of Dave’s depression.
For those who don’t know the story (all three of you), the band was working on their follow-up to the dark and intriguing Before These Crowded Streets when they finally realized that they weren’t enjoying the recording process at all. They were in a funk. Within a very short time, the band ditched their longtime producer Steve Lillywhite and picked up Glen Ballard, Dave discovered a new love for the electric guitar, and the band churned out an entire album of material that they didn’t know they had in them in a short span of time. The album hit shelves and fans were baffled. I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of the lyrics were stupid. (Wake up - a few lyrics on just about every DMB album don’t really make sense.) But they weren’t bubblegum pop. The band had a renewed sense of happiness, and they mostly wrote from that perspective. I guess in most people’s minds, when a rock band is happy, they’re not being “real”. Whatever.
So fans clamored for the unreleased material to be released, since the band claimed they still liked all of those songs and they still played a number of them in concert. Dave wasn’t happy about the songs being leaked to the public in their naked form (which had to have hurt because he’s generally come out in favor of file sharing), and so he and the band went back into the studio and knocked out another album. They gave the old demos a little polish, reworking a few lyrics, adding a little more instrumental zest, and even contributing a few new tunes (likely to compensate for a few old ones that weren’t quite ready to go). Fittingly titled Busted Stuff, the album plays like an eerie time-warp back into those dark, in-between years. I was excited to see how the songs would turn out, especially after experiencing a few of them live last year, but let’s just say my excitement didn’t last long after my first listen to the album.
I can’t help it - I guess I expected more to be done with a lot of these songs before they were put out. For the most part, this album has a light touch and it feels rather lethargic. I guess it goes with the subject matter, which deals mostly with lost love, drinking, and death. I’m not saying everything should be as optimistic as Everyday - I just think the band had a better mix of “up” tunes and “down” tunes in the past. Most of these songs are actually well-written and intriguing - I just feel like they shouldn’t have all been placed on the same album. I think Dave should have been given however many years he needed to let them simmer and complete them when he was ready, releasing them a few at a time on successive albums alongside some more varied subject matter. But as it is, Busted Stuff ain’t so bad. So let’s get into the songs and see how many of them have improved since their original half-baked appearance.
Busted Stuff Inside is where the devil rides, woman look just like love… The albums kicks off (or rather, nudges) with a light drum riff and almost immediately, Dave’s guitar and vocals break in. It’s a lot like the urgent beginning of Under the Table and Dreaming from all those years ago, but softer and slower. The song is a tale of a temptress who strung Dave along like a fool and apparently left him behind amongst “a trail of busted stuff”. It’s got a lot of cute little elements that will make the Dave fans go ga-ga, as he does a little falsetto here, a little scat singing there. Not a bad way to start the album, but certainly more low-key than any of the opening tunes on previous albums. His description of how the girl “look just like love” and how men are often fooled by looks is rather apt, but at the same time, it’s kind of a bummer that this is the tone-setter for the album. Leroi Moore gets in a few sexy notes on the saxophone, but I can’t really heard Boyd Tinsley in the mix anywhere, and it’s not exactly the triumphant full-band return I was hoping for.
Grey Street Am I supposed to take it on myself to get out of this place? Here the band churns out a fuller sound. Following the original track listing from the Lillywhite Sessions, this medium-to-fast number is about a depressed girl who lives “on the corner of Grey Street and the end of the world”. I really like Dave’s color metaphors in this song - the red blood bleeding from her, the blue ice in her heart, all that stuff. The girl’s story seems to take on another layer as Dave describes her praying for help but hearing no reply, and then meeting a strange man who wants to help her but only ends up scaring her. The main riff of the song makes good use of Boyd’s violin, which is certainly a relief to hear after its criminal underuse on Everyday, but it’s one of those songs that seems to simmer but never boil, if you know what I mean. Still, it was one of the more exciting tracks in its demo version, and more or less maintains that honor here. Drummer Carter Beauford helps Dave out on background vocals, and as far as Dave’s singing goes, he’s more passionate on this track than on most of the album, which is a definite change from the lively, hiccupy vocals of the first few albums or some of the darker growls on BTCS.
Where Are You Going Are you looking for answers to questions under the stars? This light, acoustic ballad has received a lot of exposure as the album’s first single and as part of the soundtrack Adam Sandler’s “Mr. Deeds”, and it actually wasn’t part of the original bootleg. You can tell from the tone of the song that it was written more recently - it’s got more of an optimistic tone, even though it remains fairly quiet, resting mostly on an acoustic guitar part reminiscent of “Crash into Me”, light, flirtatious sax playing that hearkens back to “Lover Lay Down”, and a gentle piano in the background (courtesy of bass player Stefan Lessard). Dave is addressing someone (probably a girl - maybe a fan or perhaps his new wife) who seems to want answers from him, and in the spirit of a few of the songs on Everyday, he asserts that “I am no Superman, I have no reasons for you… but I do know where you go is where I belong.” To be honest, it’s not one of my favorites. It’s not bad, but it never really seems to get “going”.
You Never Know Don‘t lose the dreams inside your head, they‘ll only be there ‘til you‘re dead… Okay, now the band is starting to speak my language. The other “new” track not included in the original Lillywhite Sessions starts off with a lilting acoustic riff in 6/8 time and picks up momentum from there, reminding me of “The Stone” from BTCS (especially because the first line of the song refers to stone). Come to think of it, this song would have fit perfectly into the meandering landscape of BTCS - it’s got an unusual, shifting time signature, and Dave’s musings are as fatalistic as ever. It’s a shade less paranoid and more pensive than “The Stone”, and to be honest I haven’t made heads or tails of its true meaning yet (though I’ve heard it was inspired by the birth of Matthews’ twin daughters earlier this year). A few lines stick out here and there about being chased by the moon, leaves falling from trees… the song doesn’t have a discernable chorus, so it’s likely that this was a piece of fragmented poetry that had music composed to fit. As far as the music goes, this track really proves the band’s genius as composers, with Dave as adept as ever on the acoustic guitar, Boyd and Leroi adding a sense of tension and longing with their fiddle and sax, and Carter manipulating the song’s odd rhythm with his intricate drumming. I’ll just get it out of the way now - Carter Beauford is the man. He manages to pull off at least one incredibly complex song on every album and make it look like odd rhythms such as 5 or 7 are a cakewalk. I love how he fakes you out during the verses by crashing on the cymbals on the second beat of a measure instead of the first, making it that much harder to find the pattern, and how he gets more intense and intricate as the song careens to its sudden ending. My only complaint here is that Dave’s vocals seem rather anemic where he could be really belting it out - but it’s still the standout tune on the album.
Captain Strange, but it seems like there‘s a mutiny brewing inside me… Mellow but slightly more upbeat than its original incarnation, this once downtrodden tune morphs into a slightly sexier, smooth-jazz inspired groove. I seem to remember this song being unbearably depressing on The Lillywhite Sessions, but here, I’m not sure what to think of it. It seems to be about control, as Dave asserts “I am the captain of this ship”, but as the song progresses from his introverted musings into a pseudo-sexual love song that’s more typical for Dave, you have to wonder if he really has the control over himself that he says he does. I think the song’s about trying to keep himself from falling for someone. I guess the original version resonated with a lot of folks, and this version kind of surprised many of them, but to me, it’s always been kind of an in-between tune, not one of the ones I expected to make the final cut. After hearing this version, I still see it that way.
Raven Well, I found the truth, friend, let me whisper in your ear… Now this tune got a lot more interesting. Honestly, the last entry in The Lillywhite Sessions annoyed the heck out of me - it meandered on for way too long and half of the lyrics were just unintelligible. Here, the same musical motif remains, continually returning to its ironically bright sax-and-guitar intro in between verses that tell of an odd relationship between a boy and his father. Dave’s not afraid to throw in a little bit of religious language here, even including the phrase “What would Jesus do?” before concluding that He’d probably “shake his head like an angry mother, smoke the boy, and say “I did what I could do’”. Hmmm. Someone has issues with either parenting or religion, or both. It’s an intriguing song to try and unravel, as the boy asks the father “would you take care of it please, it’s the only one there is” in reference to the truth he’s found, begging his dad to let him “give it just a little twist”. What that all has to do with the title is beyond me. But it definitely ranks up there with the most intriguing tune’s Dave’s ever written, and as the cherry on top of the sundae, Boyd finally gets to rip into a great fiddle solo right in the middle of the song. (I’ve been craving that for years now.)
Grace Is Gone One drink to remember, then another to forget… I feel a little guilty for saying I’m not terribly excited about this song. It’s become a concert staple and fan favorite over the past few years, and apparently it’s about the death of a close family member, even though the lyrics seem to deal with a breakup. Whatever the case, the promisingly twangy guitar intro soon segues into a retread of “Where Are You Going” (or perhaps that’s the other way around, since this one was written first) in which Dave is at the most down and out place we’ve ever seen him. I appreciate the honesty, but honestly, at this stage of his life, it just doesn’t seem real to hear him singing these lyrics. I want to shed a tear for him, I really do, but his request “’Scuse me please, one more drink, could you make it strong ‘cause I don’t need to think” just comes across as pathetic. Granted, I’ve never been that thrilled with a lot of the alcohol references in Dave’s songs, since I don’t think getting drunk ever solved anything, but in many of his past songs, I could get around that with other interpretations. Here the message is inescapable. I’m not about to condemn the guy over what must have been a horrific loss, but he made the song sound like he’s whining about a girl, which in my opinion was a big mistake.
Kit Kat Jam Now this is fun - but at the same time, remarkably schizophrenic. The placement of this wordless jam track (I wonder if the title will garner them a spot in future candy bar ads?) seems really out of place - almost insensitively so - in between “Grace Is Gone” and the upcoming ballad “Digging a Ditch”. I’m kind of happy to have the change in mood - this tune’s got a fun beat, more tricky drum rhythms from Carter, and plenty of sassy saxophone blurting from Leroi, fiddle picking from Boyd, what sounds like an electric guitar (!) being played by Dave. It’s cool, but rather inexplicable. This is where I really start to feel like the guys placed all these tunes on the album to get them out there ASAP for the fans to make them stop whining, because this album just ain’t flowing. Also, the ending where you can just barely hear Boyd exclaim “D@mn!” seems kind of weak after the band has already employed a similar ending to the superb “Drive In Drive Out” on Crash.
Digging a Ditch Where all these habits that pull heavy at my heart will die… Sorry… we just ran out of musical Prozac. This tune is slow, slow, and well… slow. I don’t mean to say that the speed of a song is what makes it interesting, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how this one holds a candle to most of the DMB’s previous work. It’s a lethargic, hopeless tune about digging your own grave. I’ll grant Dave that it’s clever, and I like he keeps returning to the line “Run to your dreaming when you’re alone”. But honestly, the main theme of the song seems to be promoting escapism by looking forward to death. An interesting chronicle of Dave’s depression, perhaps, but it just seems to suck the life out of the rest of the band.
Big Eyed Fish Oh God, under the weight of life, things seem brighter on the other side… Things begin to take a turn for the better as the album winds to a close. Lyrically, “Big Eyed Fish” was one of the more intriguing tunes on The Lillywhite Sessions, largely because it’s a parable with a moral rather than just Dave wallowing in his misery. Granted, that moral may or may not be such a great one, but it’s an interesting idea nonetheless. Dave basically tells three stories - one of a fish who wants to experience life on land, one of a man who decides not to breathe, and one of a monkey who comes out of his tree and visits human civilization (anyone remember “Proudest Monkey”? Interesting…) The conclusion for all three characters is the same… THEY DIE. (Sorry I had to go and ruin it for you.) The moral could be interpreted as “Be grateful for what you have; the grass isn’t always greener on the other side” , or it could be “Don’t ever change or you’ll be sorry” - up to you determine if Dave is wise or just bitter here. Anyway, I like the musical motif, with Dave’s ominous guitar intro and Boyd’s eerie plucking pattern, which is later echoed by Leroi on the sax. The song takes its time winding down, but it makes for a great fade into the next song that really takes me back to that hot summer day when I saw them live in Vegas.
Bartender When I was young I didn‘t think about it, now I can‘t get it out of my mind… This may well be the best finale on any of Dave’s records (no, I’m not a big fan of “All Along the Watchtower”, thanks for asking). It was my favorite cut on The Lillywhite Sessions - practically the antithesis of Everyday with its risky mix of alcohol and religion and an instrumental jam breaking into a four-digit track time, and most of its energy is preserved here, with a few minutes shaved off for posterity. Starting off with some surprisingly low notes from the sax, Dave hits us with a surprising analogy - God as a bartender. At least, that’s my interpretation. Whatever passion was missing from most of the album returns here as Dave’s desperate plea results in a glimmer of hope, “Bartender please, fill me glass for me, with the wine you gave Jesus that set Him free after three days in the ground.” Jesus gets name-dropped in two songs on this album - that oughta turn some heads. The words seem to be a more earnest prayer than much of what I’ve seen in Christian music recently, which is interesting coming from a man who claimed on the last album that “hoping to God on high is like clinging to straws” and “there’s no God above and no hell below”. Here, Dave is practically begging to be saved from his own private hell, cleverly turning his own phrase around as he explains that “The wine that’s drinking me came from the vine that strung Judas on the devil’s tree, it’s roots deep in the ground.” Best religious analogy I’ve heard in years. Dave’s cries of “Father, please” get more and more passionate until finally he drops out of the picture and the rest of the band takes the album home with them, eventually fading into a peaceful pennywhistle solo from Leroi that seems to trail off into silence (unless you’re listening closely and you realize that it appears to cut off abruptly at the end).
I’m glad the album perked up at the end - I honestly came this close to slapping a “Not Recommended” on this album until I realized how well-crafted the majority of these songs are. I should mention that more care was put into the packaging than you’d expect for an album thrown together this quickly, as is evidenced by the clever cover photo in which all five members of the band are creatively worked into the picture. (There’s also a disc of “other stuff” that I haven’t played around with yet, but it apparently has some DVD material and a few live cuts or something like that. Nice bonus to give fans as an incentive to purchase the album instead of downloading it - though downloading it would be a big pain anyway since it‘d be hard to ensure you had the right version of any of the previously recorded songs.)
However talented the band may be, I still think BS (ha ha) is their least enjoyable studio album to listen to, which is why I can’t give it more than an average rating. It hurts me to do that to the Dave Matthews Band when I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the majority of their past work and genuinely looked forward to every new song or even alternate versions of old songs that I’ve been able to get my hands on. But I’m starting to feel like they’ve hit their apex and they’re coasting at this point.
The moral of the story, I guess, is that you can’t always go back. Once it’s busted, you can’t always fix it.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: You Never Know, Grey Street, Bartender Good: Raven, Big-Eyed Fish Decent: Busted Stuff, Where Are You Going, Captain, Kit Kat Jam Weak: Grace Is Gone, Digging a Ditch Skippable: NONE
Band Members: Dave Matthews: Vocals, acoustic guitar Boyd Tinsley: Violin Leroi Moore: Saxophone, Pennywhistle Carter Beauford: Drums Stefan Lessard: Bass, Dobro, Organ, Piano
Website: http://www.dmband.com
Great Music to Play While: Digging a ditch and wallowing in the mud.
Busted Stuff from Dave Matthews Band is an enhanced CD that includes 11 songs, several of which are rerecorded outtakes from the original Everyday ses...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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