Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets (1998)


Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD. This may have been the last prerecorded cassette I ever purchased. At the time, I was driving a black 1998 Chevy Cheyenne C/K that had a cassette player instead of a CD player.

The band's third studio album, produced by Steve Lillywhite, is the studio album that sounds the most like the band's live albums: lots of jamming and improvising for 7 or 8 minutes at a time. I know that appeals to the band's loyal followers, but it doesn't do too much for me because relying solely on grooves and riffs doesn't leave much room for good melody and lyrics. So, like all DMB albums, this one is hit or miss with me.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #1 (1 week, May 16, 1998)

Tracks: I like the one-two punch of the album openers, Pantala Naga Pampa which segues into Rapunzel. I also like Stay (Wasting Time) and Pig. I usually skip The Last Stop while Don't Drink The Water and Spoon suffer from the squawking of Alanis Morissette. The CD has the dreaded hidden track at the end. I'm glad that trend was short lived; it really has no place in the land of iTunes, especially if you enjoy shuffling your tunes as much as I do.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Riding to and from my house to Sugar Land in the summer of 1998 for grad school classes in what was basically an office park near the old city hall.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Weekend on the Rocks (2005)
Stand Up (2005)
Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado (2002)
Crash (1996)

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