littleton_devil Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Below, is a link to the Dave Matthews Band's latest release, Big Whiskey and The GruGrux King, which is slated for release this coming Tuesday ... you will have to arrow-forward after each song, to listen to the successive track. 'GruGrux King' was saxaphonist's, LeRoi Moore's (DMB's founding member) nickname and as some might already know, Moore passed away last August ... the first track is a solo sax piece performed by Moore ... as was the case with DMB's, Under the Table & Dreaming, the cd that followed the (murder) death of Dave Matthew's sister, this Big Whiskey' cd is a provocative bit of music. Big Whiskey & The GruGrux King Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I've had the album for about two weeks now. Here's my review: 1. Grux- the one minute long opening track from one of LeRoi's last sessions before he passed away. A nice way to open the album with some good sax that heads into: 2. Shake Me Like A Monkey- Best song on the album. It's fast, funky, with Dave's usual provocative lyrics. Basically the whole song is about hand jobs. Great horns and drums on this song. 3. Funny The Way It Is- The first radio single. It is very catchy and has great violin and guitar solos. The drums again are fantastic. This is the best radio single they have put out since 1998. 4. Lying in the Hands of God- Something new for DMB; Reggae. Well, it's DMB style reggae. And it is AWESOME. #2 on the album for me. This is the perfect song to just relax to. Carter is probably the only drummer in the world that could quietly go INSANE on a slow song like this. 5. Why I Am- This is a good song until it's almost over and you realize that it's not really going anywhere. It has the same pace the whole song. The guitar solo is killer from Tim Reynolds but the change you're expecting never comes. 6. Dive In- DMB doesn't do many piano ballads but this one doesn't disappoint. This song is about global warming. Another good guitar solo from Tim. You're starting to ponder whether the violin player is still in the band or not... Boyd has been audible on ONE song so far. 7. Space Man- This song is about New Orleans. It has a nice guitar lick throughout. Has a New Orleansy feel to it. 8. Squirm- This song brings me back to the Before These Crowded Streets days of 1998. It has an Egyptian sound to it and the horns and violin sound great. 9. Alligator Pie- Yikes this song is weird. I HATED it when I first heard it because I thought it was a mess... now it's growing on me. It's a twangy, fast, southern song. Danny Barnes guests on this song on the banjo. 10. Seven- This song is going to be hard for people to grasp. It uses a 7/8 time signature that DMB used to dabble with on songs like The Dreaming Tree. If you are a 4/4 pop music fan, you will never be able to understand how this song works. It is a fun song to listen to and Tim Reynolds kills on the guitar solo. 11. Time Bomb- This song is... not good. Dave sings about wanting to be reunited with Jesus and makes reference to him being a ticking time bomb. The first half of the song is a complete build up to the "time bomb" exploding. It makes sense, but it sounds terrible. Dave should not be screaming. The music is great but Dave ruins it. 12. My Baby Blue- A great love song. Usually Dave's love songs have a lot to do with some dirty sex. This one is genuine. Symphony background with sweet lyrics and a relaxing sound. 13. You And Me- This song is terrible. I think they made this on purpose for a Disney-Pixar movie. The chorus is cheesy and there's nothing special to the music. Not my choice to close out the album. The last 40 seconds of the album is LeRoi's last sax line before he passed away. If you are close to the band and Roi's passing was sentimental to you, this would mean something. But to the casual listener, this is going to seem out of place and just weird. Overall this album is good. It is wearing on me the more I listen to it. Dave was quoted saying, "If you don't like this album, you should have a friend punch you in the face." The band thinks this is their best album yet, I disagree. It sounds overproduced and very poppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleton_devil Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Appreciate your comprehensive review, nj' ... thanks For years, I couldn't listen to DMB, or 'Dave', as all the near-greats refer to him ... 'Dave' ... God, is that pretentious or what?! Anyway, I stumbled upon an article about Dave Matthew's uncle and sister's deaths, the effect it had upon him and well, I suppose I came into his music post-facto and through the back door -- as such, I escaped the tendency to dichotomize his music into pre & post-Lillywhite genres. Discounting Matthew's creativity, success and many talents, I find that my life has paralleled his in so very many ways and I suppose this correspondence provides the impetus for the affection I have for his music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Appreciate your comprehensive review, nj' ... thanks For years, I couldn't listen to DMB, or 'Dave', as all the near-greats refer to him ... 'Dave' ... God, is that pretentious or what?! Anyway, I stumbled upon an article about Dave Matthew's uncle and sister's deaths, the effect it had upon him and well, I suppose I came into his music post-facto and through the back door -- as such, I escaped the tendency to dichotomize his music into pre & post-Lillywhite genres. Discounting Matthew's creativity, success and many talents, I find that my life has paralleled his in so very many ways and I suppose this correspondence provides the impetus for the affection I have for his music. I became disinterested in DMB when Everyday and Stand Up were released. They broke away from what they were good at and started to make radio-friendly pop music. Dave has had a very difficult personal life and the band is at it's best when he can be free lyric-wise and each band member can shine instrumentally. They have one of the best drummers and bassists in the business as well. The lyrics are also very very deep and emotional and complicated. The song "Grace is Gone" for example is sung about a girl that left him and he's at a bar telling the bartender the story while he gets more drinks. In actuality, the song has a complete hidden undertone. There is no girl. The song is about his father and the relationship he had with him. He likes to do that. Give the listener and easy explanation. But if they read deep into it, there's a whole new meaning. While I was disappointed with those albums, I still went to shows because they have one of the best live acts around. I'm happy to see that the band is back with a decent album... Stand Up and Everyday songs are being left off of their setlists, and the show goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Crash Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I'm not a big DMB fan, but my wife is. And because of that, I've seen them in concert about four or five times, including the Central Park show. FYI, DMB Live from the Beacon Theater tonight at 9 PM on Fuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I'm not a big DMB fan, but my wife is. And because of that, I've seen them in concert about four or five times, including the Central Park show.FYI, DMB Live from the Beacon Theater tonight at 9 PM on Fuse. I've got the DVR set up for that one as I will be in class til 9:45. Tell me, even though you aren't a big fan... did you enjoy the concerts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Crash Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I've got the DVR set up for that one as I will be in class til 9:45. Tell me, even though you aren't a big fan... did you enjoy the concerts? It's not really my scene -- a big-time college crowd -- but that's OK. ... Muscially, I like it best when they jam. And Boyd Tinsley is fun to watch when he gets into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deke Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 a big-time college crowd The worst kind of crowd, frat bros with there lacrosse haircuts and designer trucker hats drinking cheap beer and generally being annoying loud toolbags. Toting around there ugly overtanned north shore trash girlfriends. Nothing like punching tickets on a train full of those bozos at 1 in the morning, I took joy in booting about half a dozen of them out into the snow at Jamaica because they wouldn't pay the on board penalty fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I've never had a problem with a DMB crowd because at least here in Jersey and NYC I've seen the crowds as mid to late twenties and up. I CANNOT go see OAR live EVER again because of the 16-20 crowd that shows up. Obnoxious little sh!ts. DMB at the Beacon Theater last night was ridiculous. 22 song three hour concert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulags Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 frat bros with there lacrosse haircuts wtf is a lacrosse haircut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevil26 Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 wtf is a lacrosse haircut? I call it shaggy beach hair. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/3/3175538_e1215f562f.jpg pulled this off google. something like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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