Before These Crowded Streets is a crucial piece in the evolution of the Dave Matthews Band, an album that retains the virtues of its multi-million selling predecessors - 1994s Under the Table and Dreaming and 1996s Crash - but takes them in bold new directions musically, lyrically and instrumentally. The new albums 10 songs - bookended by two short pieces - are given to chippy, dynamic arrangements, dramatic swells of sound, some of the most passionate vocals Matthews has ever performed and passages of heartbreaking melancholy, boundless joy and lust so pronounced you might need a cold shower after listening to Rapunzel or Crush. It is, in other words, a bold step forward for the band, but this kind of musical trailblazing is hardly unexpected.
Since emerging from Charlottesville, VA., in 1991, the Dave Matthews Band (Matthews, violinist boyd Tinsley, saxophonist Leroi moore, bassist Stefan Lessard and drummer Carter Beauford) has been lauded for its ambitious approach to music making - which Details saluted as unpeggable and totally addictive. Under the Table and Dreaming and Crash have sold more than 10 million copies between them, launching such multi-format radio staples as What Would You Say, Ants Marching, Crash Into me and Too Much. But the Dave Matthews Bands real palette, to this point, has been on the road, where its spirit of improvisation has made its concerts unique events, with not two that were ever alike. Its a testament to that appeal that last years release Live at Red Rocks 8-15-95 - the first in a series of fan-oriented live albums the band plans to release to suit demand for recordings of its concerts - has been certified platinum. Even though playing live remains a valued means of expression, Matthews said the band wanted to delve deeper into the studio recordings process on Before These Crowded Streets. We had a lot of songs we could have recorded, songs that had developed on the road, Matthews says. But when he began conceiving the new album with producer Steve Lillywhite - who also produced Crash - both of them had a sense it would be nice to have new material.
Taking time off after the gruelling Crash tour helped as well, according to Matthews. Though the group did hit the road for six weeks during the summer of 1997, a good chunk of the year was spent at home, playing and working on new ideas. That was the first time I’ve been able to sit down for years, Matthews says, I just listened to the air to see if I hadn’t completely scared away the muse in me by screaming around the road. It was fun. It was a great inspiration to sit around… just playing and coming up with licks and ideas.
In the fall of ‘97, the band repaired to the West coast to begin recording with Lillywhite, putting bits of ideas together into songs. Not having a batch of tight, road-tested material worked to their benefit, says Matthews, who wrote the lyrics in New York City after the basic tracks had been recorded. It was more exciting that we didn’t know them, he explains. We didn’t know what to expect. They were constantly changing and constantly developing. The whole time we were thinking about it as an album, as a thing we had to finish rather than saying, ‘We have five out of 10 songs done, were halfway there. The result is a varied, thought-provoking soundscape with emotional shades of both dark and light. The first single, don’t Drink the Water, is driven by a dark, foreboding groove and Matthews menacing vocals. Rapunzel celebrates amore - I worship women collaborator Tim Reynolds electric guitar. The Last Stop rides keening Middle Eastern scales and a stomping rhythm, while Crush echoes the classic sound of vintage Marvin Gaye. The album features a variety of guests, including Reynolds, Bela Fleck and what Matthews calls great quantities of backup singers, including Alanis Morissette, who provides a spectral cameo on the song Spoon. The Kronos String Quartet, meanwhile, provides their own unique sensibility to the one-two punch of the frenetic haunted house ride Halloween and the more atmospheric wash of The Stone. Before These Crowded Streets also houses some of Matthews strongest lyrics yet, including some outwardly political messages in The Last Stop and Don’t Drink the Water, as well as darker sentiments in songs such as Halloween, Spoon and The Stone.
I think there’s definitely a darker tone to a lot of these songs, maybe a little more burden to them, Matthews concurs. But, he notes, there’s optimism as well; as he sings on Pig, Just love will open our eyes/ Just love will put the hope back in our minds. It has the chemistry of the five of us playing together, which is a really positive experience for us, he says, There’s just a real joy of playing. So I don’t think the overall effect will be depressing.
As Before These Crowded Streets makes its way into the world, the Dave Matthews Band now plans to do what it always does - play live. The group is anxious to take its new material before audiences and watch it evolve in new directions, I couldn’t be happier, just musically, how the five of us are turning out together, Matthew says. Our focus ability to stay on track has shown itself. The music is still our focus, and I think that’s evident.
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