The first CD I ever bought was Dave Matthews Band's "Crash" back in 1997. I knew little about music, much less DMB, but some of the cool kids I knew in 6th grade were talking about DMB and since I badly wanted to be cool, I bought the CD. "Crash" didn't make me any cooler, but it served as my entrance into music and would forever change how I listened to and played music.
68 minutes and 54 seconds of pure bliss. Here's why I love each and every track:
1) So Much to Say
Dave begins with an infectuous acoustic guitar riff, building up to an impressive overlap of bass, drum, violin, and saxophone. The lyrics were what first hooked me to the song - his alluring way of saying "I see you young and soft oh little baby / little feet, little feet, little hands little baby." His walk of punctuating "t-t-t-talk" and "b-b-baby." But, what keeps me coming back to this song was Carter Beauford's continuous improvisation with his drum lines and and Leroi Moore's subtle saxophone lines. The musicians blend so well in the song that unless you listen for their parts, they get overlooked by Dave's voice. When you listen for them, however, you realize that each member has so much to say.
2) Two Step
I had trouble warming up to this song when I first heard it, since there's a long introduction. Sure, the song starts off slow, especially after So Much to Say ends on a high note. But Two Step quickly crescendo's and accelerates you into a complex interplay of voice and instruments. My favorite lines: "Hey, my love, you came to me like / wine comes to this mouth. / Grown tired of water all the time / You quench my heart and you / quench my mind." The contrast between the pizzicato of Boyd Tinsley's violin and Moore's sax after Dave's vocals make this piece simply fantastic.
3) Crash Into Me
This song propelled DMB into stardom and won them a Grammy, but at its core, it's just a sexual song about a boy being attracted to the physical beauty of a woman. "Hike up your skirt a little more / and show the world to me." and "Oh I watch you there / through the window / And I stare at your / You wear nothing but you / wear it so well" provocatively explain how every adolescent (and older) male feels when he's attracted to a woman. It's voyeristic but innocent at the same time. The acoustic intro with running bass lines always attracted me as a bassist and the Beuford's snare keeps the song from getting too busy.
If you ever have a chance to hear the song live, it's even better - Dave often adds a few lines from the song "Dixie Chicken" by Little Feat, released in 1973. Beauford also has an incredible drum riff at the end, hitting his toms down to a big floor toms in rapid notes in perfect sync. Check out Crash Into Me, track 7, on DMB's Listener Supported CD #1/2 precisely at 5:35 on the track.
4) Too Much
It's a song about excessive materialism. "Ooh traffic jam got more cars / than a beach got sand" was my favorite line from this song. I tend to concentrate more on the instruments in this song, since their presence is purposefully felt throughout. Tim Reynold's provides some raw electric guitar. Moore's sax fade at 1:08 is a great transition back into verse. He totally hits his solo at 1:32 with Beauford providing great drum lines in the background. Dave's acoustic descending scale back into verse at 1:55 is utterly amazing. Tinsley takes over at 2:05 with an off-the-wall electric violin solo that has little breathing room but fits the part perfectly. And Dave's ascending scale leading back into verse at 2:28 really shows off his guitar skills. All motors are turned on for this fun song.
5) #41 / 6) Say Goodbye
Since #41 fades into Say Goodbye, I'm going to treat these songs as a singular unit. Hand down, these two songs are my favorite on the album. The lyrics are sensual, the jamming is amazing, and the instrumentals all demonstrated that DMB had true talent. #41 gets it name from being the 41st song Dave wrote. I've listened to this song hundreds of time and each time I find something new about it - either by listening for particular parts of holistically. I love Moore's sax on this song and how Beauford continually mixes up his drum lines. Even Stefan Lessard on bass has some great little runs and slides. Above all, the instruments complement Dave's voice so well. As his voice rises with the line "I'm begging slow, I'm coming here" the instruments instinctively follow. The song hits its high point as Dave croons "I'm coming waltzing back and moving into your head / Please, I wouldn't pass this by / I would take any more than / What sort of man goes by / I will bring you water." So good!
After the lyrics end, Boyd has a pretty classical violin solo, staying away from playing contiuous chords like usual. Moore is completely jazzy, switching off by playing on the clarinet and then back to sax.
Say Goodbye is a wonderful piece to link to and follow #41. It starts with a wonderful flute solo and some creative drumming by Beauford. The lyrics are an emotional rollercoaster - it's a song about two friends, with one wanting to have a one night of passion. Although the hope is that they can be friends after it, by the end he realizes that he has to say goodbye. The lyrics are alluring: "Stay here with me, love, tonight / Just for an evening / When we make / Our passion pictures / You and me twist up / Secret creatures" and "Just for this evening / Let's strip down, trip out at this / One evening starts with a kiss / Run away." The violin at the high point of the song is fantastic - long, emotional chords. The perfect song for a romantic couple, a breakup, or a make-out session.
7) Drive In Drive Out
The best part about this song is the ending. It's a jam session that you don't want to end. Moore and Tinsley play a simple descending and ascending scale, that is layered over with guitar, bass, and drums. They play it over and over, with Moore improvising on the sax, Beauford providing some wicked drum licks. I found it funny that at the end of the song, you can hear Dave scream "Cut, that was bad as shit!" I think they deliberately left that bit in there, but if this was a bad version, I can't imagine how amazing a version would be up to Dave's standard.
8) Let You Down
This is one of the quieter songs on the album and a nice contrast to "Drive In Drive Out." The focus here is on the lyrics: "I'm a puppy for your love / I'm a puppy for your love," as Dave continually begs "Forgive Me." It's not the best DMB song yet, but it fits nicely after track 7 and before things are kicked up with track 9.
9) Lie In Our Graves
The acoustic guitar on the song is addicting. The imagery is also great: "When we're walking by the water / splish splash me and you taking a bath / when we're walking by the water / come to my toes to my ankles to my head to my soul / then I'm blow away." The drums accent the lyrics perfectly and the sax and violin provide great solos between the verses. The bridge at 2:40 isn't busy with flashy solos, but patiently leads up, with chatter in the background, guitar strumming, and joined by violin at the end. It sounds like the song will end, but at 4:55 Dave starts the chorus again, this time with Reynold's providing some clever guitar riffs, Moore punctuating with his horns, all crescendoing to an even better finish than if the song simply faded away.
10) Cry Freedom
It's hard to say why I like this song. The lyrics are good and the violin and electric guitar particularly shine through on this song. I think it's because the song is incredibly soothing with a deeper message. "Hands and feet are all alike / But gold between divide us / Hands and feet are all alike / But fear between divide us / Hands and feet are all alike / Hear what I say / Hear what I say." Just listen to this song in its entirety.
11) Tripping Billies
I love this song. The chorus sends a great message: "Eat, drink, and be merry / For tomorrow we die." I was always a fun of all the violin solos between verses - Boyd must have loved playing on this song. What could have been a 3 minute song is extended out to 5, with some infectuous solos and jamming.
12) Proudest Monkey
When I first got this CD, I hated this song. It's over 9 minutes, it's slow, and it doesn't have a definiteable rhythm or hook like all of the other songs. For what it's worth, if you listen through, you can enjoy some of the jamming around the 5 minute mark. I don't expect anyone to fall in love with this song, but since it's at the end, you can just consider Tripping Billies to be the end of the album and call it a day.
In the end, Crash really did provide me with an inspiration for how listening to music can be just as emotional as playing it. When I listen to Crash, it triggers the gamut of emotions. And I've found that no other band has really had that impact on me. At the same time, DMB made me want to listen to more music, as I quickly kept up with Ska, Rap, Alt. Rock in middle school, and the mainstream pop of the early 2000s. It's hard to say where my tastes are given the plethora of one-hit wonders and wannabees performing on MTV these days. But DMB has a tried and true formula - a 5 person band that can jam for 3 hours on stage have that be the most amazing live performance time in and time out. So if DMB ever comes to your area of the country, I strongly recommend you go out and see them. You won't be disappointed.
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