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September 2002 Rock Pop Alternative

Written by Ann Vu

Staff Rating

9.0

out of 10

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Artist: Dave Matthews Band
Title: Busted Stuff
Label: RCA Records

Although the title is Busted Stuff, there is certainly nothing busted about Dave Matthew’s latest album. The record is polished with more profound depth than some earlier works and less mainstream upbeat sounds from Under the Table and Dreaming. It seems that post-9/11 that artists feel the need to divulge their sense of spirituality and impart a piece of their faith to the masses, a la Bruce Springsteen. Busted Stuff is an excellent, lovely work, while some of those tributes and sentimental records are more sappy than genuinely heartfelt. Dave Matthews grapples his emotions and allows them to pour out lyrically and musically in this album saturated in hazy, impressionistic sounds and colors.

One of the best aspects of Dave Matthews Band is the instrumentation and talented musicians, which allows for richer tones and cooler melodies from difficult time signatures. “Grey Street” incorporates the insistent, complicated Dave Matthews beats to emphasize the despair and anguish of a woman who prays to a God who “she swears doesn’t listen” because of the shred of hope that remains. In the dreamy single, “Where Are You Going,” Matthews offers a “Lean On Me”- type song that illustrates real comforting friendship. The next track, “You Never Know” is another sensually jazzy piece with swelling crescendos and “Satellite”-like time signature changes. “Captain” possesses a classic Matthews opening with saxophone breaks to be a fun DMB love song with Matthews’ vocals in his bluesy, cracking form. However, one of the album’s jewels is “Grace is Gone.” This piece opens with country-western guitar strumming and reveals itself to be a forlorn, bleeding tune that has a great chorus that leads the listener to believe the song is about lost love. It leaves the last line to reveal that the heartbreak is that of a widower’s and not that of a dumped man. The album ends on the ‘movie-in-a-song’ “Bartender,” that is filled with a plea to God for salvation that is brilliantly orchestrated.

In truth, Busted Stuff’s depth comes before the 9/11 tragedy in the discarded project known as The Lillywhite Sessions. The record execs and the band felt that some of the music was too dreary for release, but fans downloaded the songs like crazy. Some fans may think that Busted Stuff is an offering that is simply trying to make listeners pay for the same darker music, but the album is different from the original orchestrations. There are new songs and others have a different take with newly emerging emotions and shades. This album is truly a reflective jewel with many complex, poignant facets instead of the shallower, happy Dave Matthews sounds. Instead, there are more intense lyrics, more of Leroi Moore’s saxophone solos but still the same great composing. We may never know how Dave Matthews really feels about God, but we know how he feels about reaching out and making great music.

DVD

Some Other Stuff

It seems that every musical group has been cranking out extras lately from CD ROM bonus features to DVD’s. Some features are really interesting and some, well, suck. Some Other Stuff is just not very much other stuff and certainly nothing interesting to play with, not even a DVD ROM connection to the Dave Matthews website. The DVD has two live videos of Dave Matthews songs: “When the World Ends” and “Bartender.” Both these recordings were from a concert in Boulder, Colorado in July 2001 and are nothing too exciting; they’re just different shots of the band and energetic crowd at a great concert. Nonetheless, it is a peek at a band that is really wonderful at live shows, even if it is just two songs. The DVD also has an audio recording of “Bartender” and a still shot of the band, which is useless when you have the Busted Stuff CD. Some Other Stuff would make better use of DVD technology with interviews, information, other features and perhaps a DVD ROM website exclusive. But hey, it’s no Phantom Menace but you can live with it.