New DMB - July 16th (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Keene]

According to dmband.com there is a new studio album from Dave Matthews Band coming July 16th. The title made me curious. It is called "Busted Stuff". This is a title of one of the songs of the unreleased collection most call "The Lillywhite Sessions".

I'm wondering if he is releasing some/all of these songs finally? Anyone know?

 

[Tim Hoover]

Yes, nine of the eleven songs on the new album are from the ill-fated Lillywhite sessions. They have been rerecorded and are finally going to see the light of (legal) day.

 

[ChrisMatson]

I have been looking forward to this for some time. It is available for preorder at Amazon and the dmband.com websites. i think that I'll save some money and pick it up at a local B&M on release day. Here is a RollingStone Article about the new album.

The group chose the Plant studio in part for its idyllic Marin County location, outside San Francisco. Having recorded 1998's Before These Crowded Streets at the site, DMB deemed it the perfect setting for returning to its jam-based roots. The bonding exercise worked: This album will mark the first time the band has recorded a full album without guest musicians, with a resulting intimacy that Tinsley says has created "one of the purest albums we've done. This was also one of our shortest sessions; we found that six weeks is a good time to make an album. Beyond that, we start to lose sight of the music."
Recording began January 20th and lasted two months, fueled by strong coffee from a local cafe ("I think it gave us some of the most memorable nights in the studio -- though maybe not the most productive," Tinsley says). At times the studio was transformed into a high-tech rec center, with visits from band members' families, including Matthews' wife, Ashley, and their eight-month-old twin daughters, Stella and Grace.

I can't wait!

 

[John Garcia]

Damn, I can't wait either.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I heard that the rest of the band didn't have much input into the songwriting process and were just playing by rote as per Dave's wishes.

I don't know how true that is, but it sure sounds like it. Dave is a talented songwriter, but without the superior musicality of the band, he's just boring, IMO.

I like Crash, Under the Table, and Crowded Streets well enough, but the last album was just a big downer. Hopefully, a new apporach will pump some life into them.

NP: John Coltran, Complete Live at the Village Vanguard, disc 2

 

[Jason Quillen]

I heard that the rest of the band didn't have much input into the songwriting process and were just playing by rote as per Dave's wishes.

Youre thinking of 'Everyday', the band was even afraid that Dave would leave and go solo. I dont even consider 'Everyday' in their album catalogue. I never bought it, never downloaded it and always despised it. But I'm psyched about the new album, hopefully its a return to the...alternative-esque DMB, instead of the pop DMB.
JQ
NP: Gigolo Aunts, "Pacific Ocean Blues" (MP3's while I'm waiting for my copy to arrive from Spain )

 

[Jeff Keene]

Very interesting; thanks for the responses. I still won't understand what happened between the band and Lillywhite, which seems like such a great combo. But, I'm looking forward to this new interpretation. Already pre-ordered from Amazon (one-click is so dangerous).

 

[ChrisMatson]

The Lilywhite Sessions (called "The Summer So Far" by the band) were scrapped because they were too dark and the band wasn't motivated. Dave Matthews was in a dark place. For any DMB fans that missed it, this is a great Rolling Stone article about what really happened.
Here is a revealing Link Removed about the new album, Busted Stuff, from the Boston Herald with an interview of drummer Carter Beauford.

It has been well documented that when 2000 summer sessions for the band's last album were going nowhere, it was the gifted drummer who finally spoke up.
``It almost felt like we were spinning our wheels when we were in the studio with `the Lillywhite sessions,' '' Beauford says.
U2 producer Steve Lillywhite was behind the boards for those sessions, which were eventually scrapped in favor of ``Everyday.''
``We would get to the studio and we'd just kind of mess around, trying to avoid sitting down at our instruments to play because it was that dark and that eerie, it was kind of depressing. And that's when I said, `Man, we need something different, and we need a complete change.' ''
Beauford and the rest of the band got a little more than they bargained for, however, when Matthews went to Los Angeles to co-write the album with pop producer Ballard, who had worked with Alanis Morissette, Aerosmith and Wilson Phillips.
``When it was done I was really not that pleased with it,'' says the 40-something Virginia native. ``Because - and this is one of the main things - when we got to the studio, Dave had written these fabulous songs and he had burned them on a CD. We listened to them and they were all complete with all the instruments playing, so he had the record already done, so to speak. We thought that we were going to get in there and do our thing, but what it turned out to be was each one of us going in and copying note for note and lick for lick exactly what was on the burned CD. So when we listened to the record it was like, `That's not me playing.' ''

 

[Philip Hamm]

I personally think "Everyday" is Dave's best work. It was almost unbelievable, and extremely refreshing, to hear that drummer reigned in actually grooving instead of playing a different complicated fill every measure. His style is great for getting on the cover of "modern drummer" but sucks for music IMO. The songs on "Everyday" actually had well structured maturely composed complete melodies instead of the often aimlessly wandering melodic style (with flashes of brilliance) that always made me "so-so" about Dave's music. I'll listen to the new album but if Dave thinks "Everyday" was a departure and they want to get back to their "jam band roots" then I'm very dissapointed. They were great live last month in DC for the first show after the recording sessions, and I really like the sound of the new material.

 

[Jeff Keene]

Will... not... take... the bait...

 

[Carlo_M]

My God!!! I hadn't read that interview before, but when I first listened to Everyday, I was thinking the exact same thing Carter said in the last paragraph of that quote! I knew that Ballard and Matthews wrote the songs together, but when I first heard it I thought, wow, did the rest of the band not show up?

I can't wait for Busted Stuff. For me, Everyday has a few good tracks, but it's nothing in comparison to all of their early work.

 

[Ted Lee]

unfortunately, i became quite disenchanted with these guys. i really like their earlier albums, but their recent stuff just doesn't seem to float my boat.
it doesn't help that when i saw them in concert i was highly disappointed. it was one of the most low-energy, bizarre shows i've seen.
it's like they played a song...stopped...gathered around and talked...figured out which song they wanted to do next...then started a new song. zero energy, zero enthusiasm...it was a real turn-off. i'll never go to one of their shows again...unless it's free!

 

[ChrisMatson]

Ted-

Did you read the posts above? The new album is supposed to be more like the older stuff. I have heard about half of the songs in their previous incarnations and I don't think you'll be disappointed with the new album.

Which show did you see?

 

[Ted Lee]

hey chris -
i saw them at arco arena in sacramento (home of the kings!).
tbh, i was totally surprised at how lackluster the show was - i could definitely sense that the audience wasn't getting it either. everyone was just sitting in their chairs...no one was getting up or anything.
i've been to many concerts...i'm almost sure this is the worst one i've been too. my girlfriend and i were like, wtf?
well, i guess i'm still kind of a fan. i don't dislike their newer stuff, it just doesn't rock me like their earlier stuff does.
i suppose i'll give the new release a chance...very doubtful if i'll buy the cd though. i'll wait till they have a greatest hits...which should be soon...

 

[Ron Reda]

to "Everyday"
:star: :star: :star: :star: :star: to "Busted Stuff" (based on what I've heard from The Lillywhite Sessions)

 

[ChrisMatson]

Ted-
As you can tell, I am a huge DMB fan. The last time they played at Arco was July 13, 1999. That show go mixed reviews, but mostly positive. It sounds like it was mostly low-key--maybe due to the heat? Here are some reviews:

Well, a good alternative to the Sunday show in Concord. Only three songs were repeated. Very nice showing of good, old, songs. I called the Seek Up opener. OSW was outstanding with a very long instrumental intro. Great Recently, full jam version. Very excited when Boyd sauntered up to the mike and belted out a great Angel and Two Step was sweet. Just a note, I know DMB music is to be loved and shared, but some moron was on the radio for the "after party" and announced to the world that they played "at least 6 new songs that are going to be off the new album." I thought that oppitomized the ultimate definition of a "Crashhead," especially since there wasn't a single unknown song that hadn't been played before. You know who you are. Turn off the radio and try a tape.

Taken from the nancies.org tour archive.
Sorry you didn't like it.

 

[Jeff Keene]

I'm about to blaspheme against my own gospel, but I think Everyday has received a harsh rap.

Man did this album make me mad. I hadn't been paying attention to the news and the original release date for the "new album" came and went and I was really disappointed that it had been delayed. I was much later on the bandwagon than most, and I had been listening to Dave for only about a year or so at the time and was really chomping at the bit for a 4th album. Then Everyday came out. WFT is this? A pop album with NONE of the instrumental MUSIC I was so hooked on. I listened to it 4-5 times and put it away (almost sold it).

Then I acquired the Lillywhite Sessions (I know, I know. It was wrong of me and I feel really bad. Kind of like my dog when he gets caught eating cat food: Go ahead, yell, put me outside, I'm a bad dog. But it was worth it!). THIS was the DMB that I loved and they shelved it. My big fears were that the era was over, Dave didn't know why his fans loved him, sold out, never be the same, etc.

Well, now (thanks in large part to this thread) I have more perspective. The rumors were largely false, Dave did what he felt he needed to do, and is now getting back on track. He is finishing / releasing these songs I love (I've already pre-ordered, and promise to eat only dog food from now on. Unless..) The boys are back in town, etc. etc.

What was my point? Oh yeah. I decided to dig out Everyday, with the perspective that he needed a break and put out what amounts to a solo album that his friends (his band) backed him up on. As a side project / solo album / experiment / whatever this album worked. It is catchy, and while I was right back then that it is not a good DMB album, it is a darn good pop album and I'm enjoying it.

NP: Collective Soul - self titled 2nd album

 

[Greg_Y]

I saw them for the second time in spring of 99.
I had seen them the previous summer, August of 1998. A terrific show. I think it was last show of the tour.
Of course, the crowds were two different beasts altogether. The '99 show was made of up the Abercrombie and Fitch college crowd + people who liked the song Crash after hearing it every five minutes on Top 40 radio. The '98 show was, well, I guess the old DMB fanbase.
I've more or less lost interest in them in the past few years, but I enjoyed what I heard of the Lillywhite Sessions. I don't imagine the band has it easy. On one hand, there are the old fans that enjoyed the more 'jam band', earthy feel that first made DMB popular. On the other hand, there are the newer fans that come to hear the singles and don't want anything longer than a 5 minute song. It must be hard to cater to both crowds.

 

[Ron Reda]

Greg,
Yeah, but they (DMB) need to remember who got them where they are, the old school fans or the newbies who really have no idea what DMB is about. Personally, I wish "Everyday" would go the way of the dodo! Or, maybe it was like that last episode of Dallas...it was all just a bad dream...

 

[Ted Lee]

thanks for that info chris...i'm glad i wasn't the only one who thought something was weird...

like i said, if they're part of some concert pack or if i get free tix, maybe i'll see them again...but i definitely won't be paying full price with them as the headliners.