While fame has undeniable perks, it is inevitably accompanied by the pressure to live up to others' expectations. Critics demand innovation and fans demand consistency. As such, prominent musicians face a creative dilemma: In the search for greatness, their music must evolve in order to remain relevant, but evolve too much and the musicians risk obscurity and alienating their fans. To that end, the Dave Matthews Band's upcoming release, Stand Up, is an attempt to balance these competing interests, and one that, for the most part, actually succeeds in straddling the rival pressures of evolution and alienation.
I recently visited DMB manager Coran Capshaw's property in Crozet, Va. to listen to the album, which will be released nationwide May 10.
On the scenic ride to Capshaw's gorgeous renovated plantation home and offices, I wondered whether this album would be more suggestive of the poppy produced feel of Everyday, or if it would conversely return to the group's jam band roots, as evident on albums like Under the Table and Dreaming. I spent a glorious afternoon lounging around the basement of Capshaw's expansive pool house (read: bigger than most people's real homes), snacking on gourmet tortilla chips provided by the ingratiating, young, jean-clad assistants and listening to the album. After close consideration, I've concluded that Stand Up reflects both the poppy and rootsy strands of the band's music. And neither.
Like Everyday, the album noticeably contains pop and R&B influences. For instance, "Stolen Away" almost sounds like a rap song at the outset, and the drum track on "Old Dirt Hill" is reminiscent of a pop song at first. This phenomenon is likely due to the band's collaboration with producer Mark Batson, who has worked with artists including Dr. Dre and Beyoncé. [See interview, right.]
Nonetheless, to the delight of the band's diehard fans, while Stand Up is more heavily produced than some DMB albums, it is less so than Everyday, an album that some fans found a bit too radio-ready. Any pop elements tend to be mediated by the album's skilled layering of a variety of other, less traditional musical styles. Like Under the Table... and Before These Crowded Streets, Stand Up has a groovy, jamming feel to it. Like Crash, the album provides some quintessential songs for a good make-out mix.
At the same time, however, Stand Up is not a mere regression to the band's glory days. In many ways, the new record represents an evolution past Dave Matthews Band's previous work. The album incorporates a variety of new elements, from its use of piano on several songs (a first for the band) to its inclusion of a diverse array of musical styles, some of which are new territory for DMB, some of which the band has employed before (but certainly not all on one album).
The full extent of the eclectic influences of both producer Mark Batson and the band itself are evident on Stand Up. Whereas the first track, "Dream Girl," has an African feel to it, "Hello Again" employs good old country guitar and almost sounds like it belongs on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. The final track, "Hunger For the Great Light," evokes some of classic rock's great guitarists, while the jazzy piano number "Steady As We Go" is reminiscent of some fateful combination of old school Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder's "Lately" and the music of Wonder's modern day pop counterpart, Gavin DeGraw.
Dave himself sounds different on Stand Up. His voice is lower and scruffier than usual on some tracks. He reaches new heights of naked emotion in his vocals, especially on piano tracks like the mournful "What She Said" and "Out Of My Hands." In general, Dave sounds older and wiser. Batson's one-on-one approach to working with the band members is apparent, especially on tracks like "American Baby" and "Die Trying," both of which skillfully layer the various instrumental parts with Dave's soulful vocals.
Despite Batson's contention to the contrary, several of the songs do seem to have messages. Both "What She Said" and "Out of My Hands" have militaristic elements and seem like potential political protest songs. "Die Trying" is more motivational, telling the listener: "To change the world you only start with one step ... If you give you begin to live/You get the world." "Everybody Wake Up" is a combination of these two genres, urging the listener to wake up to the horrors of war and violence, advising: "If you're living with your eyes closed/See the man with the bomb in his hand/Everybody wake up."
"American Baby," a driving love song with a prominent violin part, was a good choice for the album's first single. It is a perfect example of the band's unique ability to capture the bittersweet. Other album highlights include the hoedown-esque "Hello Again" and "Hunger For The Great Light," a sexy love song with a gospel feel.
Overall, Stand Up suggests that you can, in fact, teach an old band new tricks and still produce an album that is palatable to loyal fans. Or, maybe they knew all the tricks before, but this is certainly the first time they put them to work all on the same album.
Ultimately, the album, much like the Dave Matthews Band itself, is greater than the sum of its parts. Stand Up draws on the band's previous work, without being dependent on it, and simultaneously forges new creative territory.
Of course, the band is still working out a few kinks in its new creative strategy; the piano numbers on Stand Up, while the most emotional, are still a bit awkward, and the integration of pop influences could be more subtle. Nonetheless, Stand Up stands as proof that these music veterans are unwilling to fade into obscurity just yet and have both the talent and innovative creativity to keep progressing and pleasing fans for years to come.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
