CD’s I’m Diggin’ Right Now: Dave Matthews Band

Sorry for the delay between posts.  I’ve been on vacation in the lovely Texas Hill Country this week.  The hotel I’ve been at didn’t have free wi-fi and as a protest to such a stupid stance the hotel is making, I decided not to log-on at all, since it was so friggin’ expensive (I’m sure I showed them).  I am now in a hotel with free wi-fi (and bigger rooms, by the way), so I’m back….

CD’s I am Diggin’ Right Now is an occasionally occurring series where I casually highlight some discs (new and old) that I think you might like, without boring you with an overly-wordy, metaphor-filled “review” that I often like to bestow upon some other discs.

I am in a similar boat as one of my fellow bloggers. I am a big-time of the Dave Matthews Band from way back. Whether it’s cool or not to admit anymore, is irrelevant to me, but  I would travel around, catching shows and diggin’ everything the man put out.  After the release of Everyday, and then Busted Stuff, my fandom began to fizzle, to the point of not even purchasing the last album, Stand Up. I indeed felt as though I had outgrown the band.

I have rediscovered some lost youth with this week’s release of Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King. The album that Matthews claims is the first “true band album” since Before These Crowded Streets is kind of dominating me right now (which is saying a lot in a week where I have been listening to some really great new stuff from other artists I really enjoy). After watching interviews from the various remaining band members, it is clear that the spirit of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died last fall, is hovering closely on this record.  Many of his ideas and licks are present, and even the title of the disc is a reference to him and his endearing nature. I’ll confirm what many other reviews have said and agree that this album shows a return to the vibe and sound of the Crash and Before These Crowded Streets albums that provided DMB with their breakthrough into mainstream stardom. While DMB has always dealt with mortality in their lyrics, songs such as “Lying in the Hands of God” cant help but carry extra meaning and depth when considering the events leading up to the completion of this record. Death doesn’t dominate this album, though. Love and the simple pleasures of life receive their due. Typical ingredients of funk, jazz and folk are filtered through Matthews’ growl to an enjoyable end. For a band that reportedly almost broke up, and then suffered unimaginable loss, this is the type of record that is much more than a return to form, but an all-out comeback.