"Stand Up" and Be Counted!
OK...my copy of "Stand Up" by DMB finally arrived today, and thanks to my near-absolute ability to avoid reviews of the album or even repeated exposure to any of the early single(s), I've been listening to it without any prejudice or expectation. I'm on track #7 ("Everybody Wake Up"), and I've taken a little time to flip through some online reviews...and I'm frankly shocked.
WTF are people expecting? Since when has DMB ever taken their sound and *not* explored new ground? I understand that there are some people that want DMB to act like they're still fresh on the scene, as if time hasn't passed since 1994 or something, but why the hell would they want to restrict themselves like that?
I wasn't a huge fan when "Before These Crowded Streets" came out, but I remember the hue and cry. People thought DMB had gone insane or "jumped the shark" (a phrase that needs to be buried). I got back into the band after "Everyday", when I took a second look on the advice of a friend. And you know what? People ripped that album apart too, despite the fact that a fresh approach yielded some very interesting possibilities. "Busted Stuff" was ripped apart for not being exactly the same as the aborted sessions that originally spawned the songs. Never mind how many fans tore Dave's "Some Devil" into tiny, tiny pieces, just for deviating from some imaginary setpoint.
OK, we're on track #9 now ("Hello Again"), and what I've heard thus far is a challenging album that represents the evolution of the band as a creative force. There are a ton of allusions to the hooks and music of the early DMB era, but there's also a maturity that cannot be denied. The production feel of the album is closer to jazz in some places, R&B in others...it's not commercial, that's for damn sure. But how can people say this doesn't sound like it would work well live?
This is the kind of music I would expect to hear on an unexpectedly amazing night at the local jazz club, or something I might have stumbled on while wandering off of Bourbon Street. There are some production effects that weren't present in the older style, but listen to a song like track #10, "Louisiana Bayou"...this would be incredible live, especially in a smaller setting. This is not an album of arena jams. This is an album of jams on a smaller scale, and it's more personal in the process. This isn't an album of radio friendly fare; this is not cookie-cutter. This is my first time listening, and I'm still wondering why it's taking people more than one listen to even begin to appreciate it. I love the balanced approach...some songs focus on Dave, others on Boyd, others on LeRoi, etc. (To me, it's in the vein of Sting's classic "Dream of the Blue Turtles", which has incredible production values and a similar feel.)
It's about a band long in the tooth finding new ways to collaborate and experiment. It's about playing something more than just the same old songs, sharing something more than the 10,000th version of "Ants Marching". The funny thing is...wait a little while, and people will be standing in the crowd, cheering the band on, while they jam out a live version of a song like track #12 ("You Might Die Trying"), which will never see airplay. It's equally funny to consider, listening to this album close out, how easy it would be to take the studio albums of DMB, toss them in a CD changer, and hit "shuffle"...and watch how it all meshes together.
Oh, and for those who think this is nothing more than "Some Devil II"...if you can't tell the bloody difference, then perhaps you don't know these musicians as well as you think!
WTF are people expecting? Since when has DMB ever taken their sound and *not* explored new ground? I understand that there are some people that want DMB to act like they're still fresh on the scene, as if time hasn't passed since 1994 or something, but why the hell would they want to restrict themselves like that?
I wasn't a huge fan when "Before These Crowded Streets" came out, but I remember the hue and cry. People thought DMB had gone insane or "jumped the shark" (a phrase that needs to be buried). I got back into the band after "Everyday", when I took a second look on the advice of a friend. And you know what? People ripped that album apart too, despite the fact that a fresh approach yielded some very interesting possibilities. "Busted Stuff" was ripped apart for not being exactly the same as the aborted sessions that originally spawned the songs. Never mind how many fans tore Dave's "Some Devil" into tiny, tiny pieces, just for deviating from some imaginary setpoint.
OK, we're on track #9 now ("Hello Again"), and what I've heard thus far is a challenging album that represents the evolution of the band as a creative force. There are a ton of allusions to the hooks and music of the early DMB era, but there's also a maturity that cannot be denied. The production feel of the album is closer to jazz in some places, R&B in others...it's not commercial, that's for damn sure. But how can people say this doesn't sound like it would work well live?
This is the kind of music I would expect to hear on an unexpectedly amazing night at the local jazz club, or something I might have stumbled on while wandering off of Bourbon Street. There are some production effects that weren't present in the older style, but listen to a song like track #10, "Louisiana Bayou"...this would be incredible live, especially in a smaller setting. This is not an album of arena jams. This is an album of jams on a smaller scale, and it's more personal in the process. This isn't an album of radio friendly fare; this is not cookie-cutter. This is my first time listening, and I'm still wondering why it's taking people more than one listen to even begin to appreciate it. I love the balanced approach...some songs focus on Dave, others on Boyd, others on LeRoi, etc. (To me, it's in the vein of Sting's classic "Dream of the Blue Turtles", which has incredible production values and a similar feel.)
It's about a band long in the tooth finding new ways to collaborate and experiment. It's about playing something more than just the same old songs, sharing something more than the 10,000th version of "Ants Marching". The funny thing is...wait a little while, and people will be standing in the crowd, cheering the band on, while they jam out a live version of a song like track #12 ("You Might Die Trying"), which will never see airplay. It's equally funny to consider, listening to this album close out, how easy it would be to take the studio albums of DMB, toss them in a CD changer, and hit "shuffle"...and watch how it all meshes together.
Oh, and for those who think this is nothing more than "Some Devil II"...if you can't tell the bloody difference, then perhaps you don't know these musicians as well as you think!
posted by John Keegan | 20:16
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