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REVIEW |
EVERYDAY PEOPLEThe Dave Matthews Band dips its toes into the mainstreamThe big question raised by the Dave Matthews Band’s latest studio opus is this: When the most prominent acoustic guitarist in rock lays down tracks with an electric for the first time, does it make his one-of-a-kind band sound, as the album title suggests, everyday? The answer is, not really, although it would have been sweet to hear grooves like "So Right" strummed on a flattop guitar rather than the more conventional solid-body plank. Playing an acoustic guitar, Matthews only needs to hit two notes to announce his identity; with an electric (even a baritone, as used here), he blends in more with the crowd. But Matthews’ signature goes deeper than the tones coming out of his ax, down into the unpredictable zigs and zags of the songs themselves. (Besides, past DMB albums have featured plenty of searing electric work by Tim Reynolds, so the sound isn’t entirely new.) A far more questionable addition is the keyboard playing of producer Glen Ballard, famed for his collaboration with Alanis Morrisette on Jagged Little Pill and for his general hitmaking touch. I subscribe to the theory that electronic keyboards (at least the patches called Bloated Corporate Rock and Saccharine Power Ballad) are the serial killers of pop music, and to hear those Phil Collins–esque keyboard arpeggios on the otherwise decent song "The Space Between" is a profound disappointment—unforgivable, really, in the context of such an original-sounding ensemble. Also misguided is Carlos Santana’s cameo in "Mother Father"; despite the quasi-Latin feel and nylon-string guitar, Santana’s wailing leads sound like they’re sampled from a different song. But in the context of the whole album, those are fairly minor lapses, and mostly what remains in memory are the dramatic melodies and gripping grooves. Along with producing, Ballard cowrote this set of songs with Matthews, and he is partly responsible for reining in Matthews’ idiosyncrasies—the songs are shorter and have fewer instrumental digressions. This is a positive development for a CD and a continuation of where Matthews has been going on the last several records as his songwriting has matured. When he manages to deliver both a little instrumental adventure and a monster hook, as on "I Did It," he is a force to be reckoned with. At the same time that Matthews’ song structures are tightening, his lyrics (never a central attraction of his music) are becoming much more focused and vivid. All these developments make Everyday the DMB’s most accessible work yet. Matthews’ acoustic guitar is not completely gone from the mix, surfacing most prominently on the title track that closes the disc. With a simple, nicely picked 12-string part and a gospel-folk feel, "Everyday" stands out as a sign of a direction not taken on the rest of the songs. This is probably as close as Matthews will come to the style of Lyle Lovett and other rootsy songwriters he admires but is constitutionally unable to copy. It’s fascinating to see a band that found its audience with a prickly, noncommercial sound (long songs with complex rhythms and no hooks) inching closer to the mainstream—not because they need or want to score a hit but because their instincts and experience are leading them there. If strapping on an electric guitar is part of Matthews’ journey, so be it, but let’s hope that his fresh take on the acoustic box continues to ring through the band’s future. --Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |
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