Sit Down. Stand Up. Rock Out to the Jams from Hell.
Written: Jul 19 '05 (Updated Sep 17 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Generally more upbeat than Busted Stuff; a few of the experiments sort of work.
Cons: Generally awful lyrics/vocals; band strays too much from what really works for them.
The Bottom Line: The DMB tries to win back old fans and experiment at the same time, and fails on both counts due to an embarrassingly bad set of songs.
divad23's Full Review: Stand Up [Digipak] by Dave Matthews Band
I continually struggle to figure out where exactly my place is amidst the legions of Dave Matthews Band fans in the world. While I can't say that I'm one of those hardcore Dave-heads who has been there since the days of Remember Two Things, knows every word to every song (in addition to when the best live versions of each were bootlegged and how you can get your hands on a recording), and who thinks they'll never top Under the Table and Dreaming or The Lillywhite Sessions, I also know that I'm not a casual fan who was drawn in by radio hits like "Crash into Me" or "The Space Between". I first heard the band in 1996, when their Crash album was popular, and I kind of filed the catchy and unique sound of some of their songs away until curiosity got the best of me four years later. Thanks to Napster, I became a DMB fan in very little time, finding Crash to be their most immediately enjoyable album, but being willing to delve into the ambitious, open-ended exploration of Before These Crowded Streets, the sudden pop crossover attempt of Everyday, and the subdued, reflective tones of Busted Stuff. Shoot, I even found a lot to like about Dave Matthews' solo album, Some Devil, when a lot of DMB fans were claiming it was Snoozeville.
Still, despite being able to roll with the punches and grow with the band in a way, I had to admit that the "classic DMB" sound had a strong appeal, and a "return to roots" might not be such a bad idea for the band. I was excited to hear that they had a new studio record, Stand Up, coming out in 2005, though maybe it was just me being preoccupied with other things, or maybe it was an intentional stealth attack, but I didn't even know when the album was coming out until the actual day of release. And I was troubled on that day, because a lot of fans were complaining about technical problems playing the CD's due to extreme copy protection measures that the band (or the label?) had taken, as well as some rather odd production that didn't seem to fit the band. I didn't rush out and buy it that day like I had planned to, and as a result, it's taken me a while to hunt down this album and really give it a listen. Still, I planned to be patient with the band, knowing that their new records were often greeted with skepticism. I wanted to be the one to go against the flow and really love Stand Up from the get-go, because, you know, I pride myself on being a patient listener.
Ten or twenty listens later, I'm still in shock, wondering what the hell happened. This sounds like the Dave Matthews Band I knew and loved - the trademarks, while a bit subdued, are all still there. But much like everyone complained about on Everyday, there's not much room for jamming on Stand Up. That's the first oddity that I noticed, and I'm not one to expect these massive ten-minute free-form jams, but the DMB just doesn't sound right constrained to three or four minutes per song. They sound even more not right with producer Mark Batson twiddling around with Carter Beauford's drums, cutting and pasting them and making little programmed R&B-type rhythms out of them from time to time. OK, it's a nice experiment here and there, but the lack of energetic drumming on several of the tracks that sound like it should have it really kills the momentum. Then came the realization that Dave's voice sounds like it's been totally thrashed. I've heard him go from helium-induced yelps to dark growls to sounding like a wide-eyed schoolboy who just woke up on past records, but here, the guy just sounds rough and gravelly and sometimes quite creepy, in a very irritating, non-intriguing way. He had his raw moments on Some Devil, I guess, and of course we all remember back to the meltdown that was "Halloween", but here, it doesn't sound intentional. It sounds like he's been living on a diet of bourbon and razor blades, and that ain't good.
But you know what, all of this would be excusable if at their core, these were well-written songs. I've listened to enough DMB to know that you're gonna get a lot of light-hearted songs about sex, or drinking, or getting drunk and having sex. I'm used to it. But for some reason, the tone seems creepier and more obsessive here, even when the songs are meant to be lighthearted. I guess we had "Crash into Me" all those years ago, and that was basically a peeping tom's theme song, but you know, I was never a huge fan of that one, either. This time around it's just embarrassing - on a few of these songs, it just feels like the guy worships sex. Then he turns around and tries to do a genre piece or inject a little politics into his songwriting, and it's just majorly awkward. Some would say that lyrics aren't the point, and you're just supposed to jam and have fun, which I can do when the music puts me in that mood, but keep in mind that this is the guy who has also written much more captivating songs like "Don't Drink the Water" or "Bartender", and even when he's written about sex, some really gorgeous songs like "Crush" have come out of it. I don't mean to be a prude - it's not a moral objection so much as a realization that Dave is really regressing on this album. Combine that with highly muted roles for drummer Carter Beauford and violinist Boyd Tinsley to play, and you can see why this album generally fails to hold my interest.
Dreamgirl I was feelin' like a creep as I watched you asleep Face down in the grass, in the park, in the middle of a hot afternoon Your top was untied, and I thought how nice It'd be to follow the sweat down your spine... I like the wash of vocals and the relaxed drum beat and guitar picking that start this song off. It's got a relaxed pace to it, much like "Busted Stuff", but a little more upbeat and much less downtrodden. The acoustic guitar seems to intentionally slip away from the beat in a way that's actually kind of refreshing. This all sounds great until Dave opens his mouth and starts groggily singing silly lyrics about digging holes to China and back - lines which could be whimsical as the subject of the song, but that just sound stupid here after Dave goes in a more direct, lustful direction for the chorus and most of the rest of the song. Nothing wrong with singing an ode to a sexy woman, but it's kind of hard to say whether this one is actually flattering. While Dave asserts, "You're my best friend", he really seems more preoccupied with her body and the fact that she's a fun person with whom to get drunk and screw. He even describes first meeting her in a park, coming across more like a stalker than a love-struck admirer. I'm sure his intentions are good, and I certainly do enjoy the light groove of the song (including the sexy sax solo and the background vocals), but there are too many bumps in the road to consider this one an excellent start.
Old Dirt Hill (Bring that Beat Back) Scream and shout out loud our innocence Days when all we did would never end... A more innocent song about childhood comes next - we're still in "vaguely upbeat but mellow" mode, and while it's weird to think that this album is more laid-back than Busted Stuff so far, it's actually kind of refreshing. Again, the guitar is lightly plucked and strummed, giving the song a vaguely tropical air, while a decidedly processed drum beat, way too clean and organized for what we've come to expect from Carter. Interestingly, though, Carter makes his presence known by singing the song's chorus, while Dave more or less mumbles in the background. Other than Boyd Tinsley's "True Reflections", I can't think of any other time when the voice of another DMB member has been so prominent, so this is an interesting experiment. Taken for what it is, this is actually a pretty enjoyable song which finds Dave wanting to revisit his old neighborhood and ride his bike around and share a kiss with his first childhood love. It's unadulterated escapism, but in small doses, that ain't such a bad thing.
Stand Up (For It) I feel like smoke and fire burnin' us all You drop me in the water Lift me out, save my soul... A much chunkier beat (still very programmed - Mark Batson apparently had a desire to turn the DMB Into an R&B group) and a rambling electric guitar riff give this song a much more energetic, playful feel, and just for a few moments, as the guys excitedly shout "Stand up!" over and over, I find myself expecting a sweet, simmering jam track. I suppose you could view it at that, but with the processed drums (which do sound a bit more like Carter, just run through a machine), it doesn't quite come to the boil than a lot of past DMB tracks have. Again, it's Dave vocals and lyrics that really drag the song down - he sounds like he's straining to hit notes that are within a perfectly normal range for him, and the verses seem to have no connection to the chorus, as he's basically singing about a girl who looks good naked and who he uses like a drug to get high. Save for a bit of Leroi Moore's saxophone blurting here and there, I have a tough time finding much to enjoy about this one.
American Baby Intro She said a hundred times She said a thousand times And I hold on to you, she said... Talk about wasted potential. This "intro" sounds like the band took a snippet of a longer jam session from the song that is to follow, and decided instead to place it before the song it originally came from, and fade into and out of it rather inexplicably with the sound of quiet piano and what appears to be the soundtrack from an old war movie (seriously, it sounds like a really bad recording of gunfire) bookending it. It's a lot of rhythmic buildup with a few scattered lyrics, which is fun for the short time that it lasts, but then it completely wastes a chance at a good segue by fading back into quietness before the actual song begins.
American Baby Nobody's laughing now God's grace lost and the devil is proud But I've been walking for a thousand miles One last time I could see you smile... I have to admit that they at least did a decent job of choosing a lead single from this record. While "American Baby" isn't a particularly fascinating song, it's enough to hold my interest as Boyd's violin plucking accompanies a steady beat and a fairly memorable melody. Dave sounds like he's in slightly better form vocally here, singing mysterious lyrics that blur religion and romance the way some of his better songs have. What he's actually trying to tell the girl in this song is beyond me, other than a vague sense of needing her to get through tough times. What this has to do with her being American is beyond me - that doesn't exactly make her stand out the way it would if she were a "Chinese Baby" or a "South African Baby" or a "Lebanese Baby" or whatever. It seems like a cheap attempt at a patriotic tie-in, quite honestly. But whatever; it's a simple and fun song and it has a more full and convincing sound than most of the album does.
Smooth Rider If you see me out there runnin' And you hear the sheriff's comin' Your daddy's crazy with that gun in his hand... Talk about pointless. Dave takes a snippet of an interesting story here, which appears to be about a forbidden love that put him on the run from a girl's crazy father who wanted to shoot him when he found out what was going on. Dave's vocals are again at their most gravelly (he has to be doing this on purpose... doesn't he?), the overall rhythm and flow of the song are rather uninteresting, attempting a soulful groove complete with an organ playing in the background, and there's no sense of build-up or climax before the song fades out, not even lasting for two and a half minutes. It's like one of the song snippets he carelessly tossed onto Some Devil - an interesting song idea, perhaps, but definitely not a complete thought worthy of taking up space on a DMB album.
Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives) Oh, I remember the words of the misguided fool Do unto others as you'd have them do And not an eye for an eye is the golden rule Just leaves the room full of blind men... A dramatically whiny string intro leads into a song that keeps getting compared to the sound of Everyday, specifically the song "What You Are" - I'll admit, it fits. Dave's definitely done a 180 from the sentimental, romantic, and horny songs that dominate the album - he gets political on this one, and unfortunately, that's never really been Dave's strong suit. I guess I don't see how a very profound statement being made when he tells everybody to wake up and "see the man with the bomb in his hand". I mean, we all know terrorism exists - duh, so now what? Things get even more murky when he quips, "Hear the words of the misguided fool, do unto others as you would have them do." So wait, you're trying to promote peace here, but you're not a big fan of treating others as you'd want them to treat you? I'm confused. More awkwardness dominates the song, but Boyd's nervous violin playing (which seems to follow a rhythm of its own) does offer a bit of interesting distraction, and you can hear Carter banging and clunking around on his fancy little toolkit in time with some dirtier electric riffs in the middle of the song. This one kind of stays in a holding pattern instead of being the apocalyptic, dramatic song that it really wants to be - the production just plays it too safe.
Out of My Hands And now our finest hour arrives See the pig dressed in his finest fine And all the believers stand behind him and smile And the day lights up with fire... You've probably heard a snippet of this haunting piano ballad in previews for some new show on the WB whose title escapes me at the moment. It's admittedly interesting to hear Dave do such a quiet and brooding song, backed by an instrument that isn't part of the core DMB ensemble, though one has to wonder why he didn't save such a spotlight tune for his solo album. (He probably hadn't written it yet, but still, this isn't what I'd consider a true DMB song, due to lack of involvement from most of the band.) One interesting production choice here was to have Carter cluttering around in the darkness behind Dave, with the muted drums barely audible, but building ominously, giving the song a withdrawn, cavernous feel. (There's a little bit of Stefan Lessard bumbling about on the bass, too, but no Boyd or Leroi that I can hear.) This could have evolved into a spectacularly dark and memorable tune if it had been allowed to open up a bit, but as it is, it just kind of fumbles about and then trails off. Dave even goes to far as to recycle an entire verse from the song we just heard before this one (or was it the other way around?), which I guess is supposed to connect the two songs in some way, but it just comes across as lazy.
Hello Again I am a waste of the flesh on my bones I am a waste of the air in my lungs So go far from me, man, go and be saved This serpent, not God, that pours through my veins... This song displays a little more of the rhythmic trickery that I've come to expect from the band who brought us songs like "Rapunzel", "You Never Know", "The Dreaming Tree", etc. A tricky 6/4 time signature, highlighted by bright acoustic guitar and more of the old-school, lively drumming style from Carter that this disc just doesn't have enough of, gives this song a playful feeling. Ironically, Dave goes off on a bit of a nihilistic rant here about confronting the Devil and considering himself to be a useless waste of space... but then again, maybe it's not as cut and dry as all that. Whatever the case, it's definitely one of the more interesting and energetic songs on the record, with Dave's rambling coming across as more endearing than annoying. The rhythmic shifts between 6/4 and 4/4 are fun to follow along with once you catch on, and I love the way it careens right into the intro of the following song.
Louisiana Bayou Sweet girl daddy didn't put that there like he's insane Brother can't watch him put that girl down again 'Till late one night took a knife with a couple of friends Swear his daddy never gonna see another day... Oy vey, what an embarrassing song this is! And it's the longest one on the album, too, the one where the band actually opens up and jams a bit. Go figure. Dave completely goes off the deep end, attempting to imitate some sort of a Cajun accent or something as he tells a grim tale of murder in a swampy locale. It could be an interesting, ethnic-tinged song in the right hands, but I honestly feel like these guys have no clue what they're doing. The overall melody is good enough, laying down a gritty little groove while Boyd weaves in and out of the mix with his fiddle. But Carter is back on programmed auto-pilot and Dave is doing his absolute best to irritate me here, as he punctuates the "You" in "Ba-YOU!" and then tacks it onto every other line of the chorus, rendering the lyrics as complete nonsense. "Trying to play with the cain-YOU"? What the hell does that mean? Never mind; even if it means something profound, it sounds idiotic, and I sure as hell don't want to have to sit through five minutes of this any more times than I have to.
Stolen Away on 55th and 3rd Saw you there dancing, when I was afraid I might get in the way I did not think I would see you again Funny, to think how the time gets away Funny, how you take me right back again... The steady R&B groove thing is just not working so well for the band on this album. One of the band's dullest song to date attempts to noodle around with Leroi's sax for romantic effect, but it finds Dave wandering around with a boring and repetitive melody as he sings about how time slips away and how he met a girl on some street corner or something. It just gets old after about a minute, and while I'm sure this one might be of interesting to hardcore Dave-heads because it appears to be the final version of a song that evolved over the years during the band's concerts, I find myself yearning for the skip button. This one's definitely B-side material.
You Might Die Trying To change the world, start with one step However small, the first step is hardest of all Once you get your gait, you'll be walkin' tall You said you never did... I thought this song was going to be total cornball, what with Dave's opening line, "To change the world, start with one step", as if he actually had the audacity to inform us of how to do such a thing. However, the lyrics actually redeem themselves, at least somewhat, by taking the grittier approach and admitting that true change is a lifelong process, and we might not live to see the seeds we've planted come to fruition. OK, I can get behind that message - it's motivating, because it implies that we are doing good even if we don't see immediate results. The quick guitar strumming on this one opens up into what might just be the album's most fun jam, even if we still have the problem of the programmed Carter-droid derailing the momentum just a tad. Boyd gets to fiddle along with Dave's rapid guitar line and insert a few angular strokes here and there, which is the closest thing we're gonna get to a tasty solo from him on this album. Leroi has a bit more sass on this track, too, and I'll admit it, it genuinely puts a smile on my face. Not even the cheesy line, "If you give, you begin to live, you get the world" can derail me this time. This is, production issues aside, more like the DMB that I know and love.
Steady As We Go When the storm comes down you shelter me When I don't say a word and you know exactly what I mean... Now, I hate to start yawning just when Dave decides to do something about my complaint regarding all the sex songs, and he decides to write one that's actually about commitment. But we've got another piano ballad here, and two of these is just too many for a DMB album - especially considering that the melody on this one is so straightforward and predictable. Maybe I can feel the sentimentality just a tad as Dave tries to urge a lover to stick with him through a storm, but come on, this is the kind of stuff I'd expect from Bryan Adams, not Dave Matthews. (Though I guess it'd be more bombastic on a Bryan Adams album.) My interest perks up just a little when the song appears to end and then the full band comes in for an encore - it's a nice, lush way to close things out. Still, I can't seem to get over the predictability and dull pacing of this one.
Hunger for the Great Light You and I are such a pretty thing Smile, smile, you know you thrill me Cross your heart and hope to die You know I'd love to... I was hoping that this would be one of those great, euphoric DMB closers in the vein of "Bartender". Shoot, the title even alludes to some sort of religious content, and Dave's proven to be rather interesting in that department in the past, regardless of whether he's running toward God or away from God. Quite sadly, this song quickly loses its promise as Dave clumsily sings his opening prayer, "O great light of love", over a dry electric riff - the guy sounds like he's having trouble holding a note. From there, it opens up into another sassy jam track, which is interesting, since the band has never closed an album with a fast song before. Unfortunately, the mood is very quickly killed as he decides to make the song an ode to a "dirty girl", and to describe in rather non-subtle terms how he'd like to go down on her. Alright, so we all know that "Crush" was referring to this, too, but it did so in a much more classy and romantic way. Here's it's basically just sexual braggadocio, and it's embarrassing to listen to. The "great light" stuff just clinhes it for me - sex is some sort of a religion for this guy or something. And sure, I guess great sex can inspire a guy to start speaking in religious terms regarding the experience - nothing wrong with that analogy. It just happens to come out in a rather embarrassing way. The song stumbles to an awkward halt in less than five minutes (a lot like the sexual encounter it's describing, I'd imagine), leaving a tacked-on string section to close out the album. Seriously... What. THE. Hell?
And there you have it. A much-anticipated new album from the DMB that responds to an over four-year absence of new material with floundering awkwardness. I could recommend a few tracks from this album, and I'm sure several will take on a life of their own in a live setting, where they don't have clunky production and unnecessary time limits working against them ("Louisiana Bayou" excepted; that one could use a stricter time limit). But I can't recommend the album overall, unless you're a hardcore fan, in which case you probably knew at least half of these songs before the album even released anyway. Dave can sing about whatever he wants, but in my opinion, he needs to do it somewhat coherently, and seriously work on his vocal performance, and the band needs to either get Steve Lillywhite back or find someone who is as sensitive to the band's strengths as he was, before I'll be willing to take them seriously. If those flaws don't bother you, then by all means, have fun with Stand Up. I prefer to stay seated for this round.
ALBUM WORTH: Dreamgirl $.50 Old Dirt Hill (Bring that Beat Back) $1.50 Stand Up (For It) -$.50 American Baby Intro $0 American Baby $1 Smooth Rider -$.50 Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives) $.50 Out of My Hands $1 Hello Again $1.50 Louisiana Bayou -$.50 Stolen Away on 55th and 3rd -$.50 You Might Die Trying $1.50 Steady As We Go $.50 Hunger for the Great Light -$.50 TOTAL: $6.50
Band Members: Dave Matthews: Lead vocals, guitar Boyd Tinsely: Violin, backing vocals Leroi Moore: Saxophone Carter Beauford: Drums, vocals Stefan Lessard: Bass
It s been three years since Dave Matthews Band has released a new studio recording-and the new album, Stand Up, has 14 new songs. So, to describe it a...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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