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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2002)
Dave Matthews Band's new CD returns to old style CD REVIEW In 1968, the Beatles let it be. Unhappy with a collection of songs, the Fab Four scrapped their work on “Get Back” and moved forward, only to find - much to their dismay - the album released some two years later. Thankfully, the Dave Matthews Band didn’t make the same mistake. Sometimes, something so close to greatness is a world away from completion. Pieces lie scattered about, needing only careful consid eration and a little caring to turn an abandoned project into a beautiful, eclectic compilation. DMB’s newest CD, “Busted Stuff,” is a piece of work that re sembles, at least for the majority of the album, a collection of songs that flaunt sounds of carelessness and discontinuity — the corner stones of their anti-formula that has attracted the ears of so many. Unfortunately, “Busted Stuff’ comes two years too late. This past year, the band opted to put out the ul tra-electric, disappointingly main stream album “Everyday.” In the process, the band shelved the songs heard on the new disc, many of which were intended for release in late 2000. DMB began reworking songs on the album in January, ap for ttm wok of frktoy, July Wthl Auttustn from Banftr* familiar Quotationa. ~ Hogur Ebert, cmcmo SUM-TIMES OCOMMOB IMPORTANCE ^ BEING 17 A HXTTTCSTP JCtfjrlLJVllI JUiO JL 492 e 13th 686-2458 Nightly 5:00,7:10 & 9:15pm Sat & Sun Wat 2:50pm I “One of the funniest, most joyous comedies to come afoaj; since the Creeks invented comedy.” I— fJK r> Smdtr DAILY IffiRA(i) MY G FAT GRIIK WEDDING frkirft NlghOTtriS, 7:20 & 9:26pm Sat & Sun Mat 3:10pm I SOON: The Emperor's Maw Cloths* Mad DuCkLing T'Children's heatre Wit* tuppoH from iht DO Sinwtt SnaioM Offiia amt fra ASUO Join us on the lawn of the Robinson Theatre on the (JO Campus! Limited free parking is available. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. $4 tickets tor all ages pmoccHio COMMEVIA byjah*u*y $l*tu>r+ July 30- Au&u&t3 „ £r %^Au#<A4t6-10 1L4M For information and reservations call 346-4192 or visit our website at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~theatre parently unhappy with their prior work. Matthews rewrote lyrics while the band tinkered with arrange ments, and in doing so, produced an exciting, free-flowing album. Better late than never. “Raven” jumps off “Busted Stuff” as the band’s strongest song. After opening with a peaceful riff, a bass heavy, drum-laden groove takes hold. Most noticeable are the haunt ing saxophone solos played by Leroi Moore, which resemble the heckling chime of a bird. Matthews’ vocals, sassy and condescending, drive the funky verses while also carrying the song’s smooth chorus. “Raven” transcends as a head bobbing sing-along despite the un derlying lyrical content. Matthews sings: “What you got, what you got in your hand? / A father said the son /1 got the whole world here, Daddy / Between my fingers and my thumb. ” It’s then revealed that it would take “10 lifetimes” to undo what’s been done. “Raven” is a sad, riveting tale that should rival “Crash Into Me” and “Crush” for notoriety. The title track, “Busted Stuff,” is a catchy tune that, after less than one listen, will leave the chorus in the long-term memory bank. “Captain” serves as the album’s jazz track that kindly pleasures the ears while speaking sensually of a rendezvous. “Grey Street” offers the multitude of sounds that differentiate DMB from other groups, and “Where Are You Going” is a simple, easy to sing love song. “Kit Kat Jam,” an instru mental played by the group, unfortu nately doesn’t jam and is difficult to enjoy. “Big Eyed Fish” is dark and heavy - the kind of song that plagued “Everyday.” The lyrics of the song, however, produce an inter esting, grass-is-greener tale. “Bar tender,” a fan favorite when the band is on tour, doesn’t get justice at the end of the disc. Interestingly, DMB has a few Beatles-esque moments on “Busted Stuff.” Guitar strumming at the be ginning of “You Never Know” strangely resembles the introduc tion of “Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown).” The catchy tune “Grace is Gone” has a lost-love plot and simple chorus that has mo ments of Paul McCartney. “Digging a Ditch” proves to be the most thoughtful, introspective song on the album. The chorus is carried lightly in therapeutic form by Moore and coincides brilliantly with the underlying theme. As Matthews sings, the ditch is a place “Where all these troubles weigh down on me will rise / Run to your dreaming when you’re alone / Where all these questions / Spin ning around my head will die. ” The reemergence of DMB’s au thentic sound is refreshing and, while it’s likely not mainstream enough to help “Busted Stuff’ over take sales records of “Everyday,” it will satisfy long-time faithful. And in the end, Dave Matthews Band turned a collection of busted tunes into an album that surpasses the best of what’s around. Contact the sports editor at bradschmidt@dailyemerald.com. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Payne continued from page 9 Fall of the Third Reich. ” Shirer, one of “Murrow’s Boys,” was a correspon dent for CBS in Berlin until 1941 and returned to Germany with the victori ous Allied troops, where he got an eyeful of captured documents. Shirer’s writing, which is scholar ly and very witty at the same time, tells in its more than 1,000 pages the tale of the hideous brutality of the Nazis. But Shirer also writes of the behind-the-scenes power struggles that first catapulted a little-known Austrian painter into power in Ger many, and the machinery that kept him there until the bitter end. For those who think that the Soviet Union or World War II may still hit too close to home, a good book to read is “The Annals of Imperial Rome,” by Publius Cornelius Taci tus. Tacitus wrote an overview of the first five Emperors of Rome. For those not keeping score, they are Au gustus, Tiberius, Gaius (better known as Caligula), Claudius and Nero. Tacitus writes in an entrancing, story-telling style that tends to damn with faint praise many of the emper ors, especially Tiberius, whom he hated. Although portions are slow reading, dealing with the minutiae of state, there are still riveting ac counts of mutinies in the armies, great battles and palace intrigues. Not all of Tacitus’ work survives —the entire portion of the manu script dealing with Caligula has been missing for centuries, so we don’t know if his accounts reach the “over the top” madness and decadence that have been linked with Caligula’s name. But the account of Nero more than makes up for the loss with what has to be one of the most bone-head ed murder plots ever devised. There. Didn’t I say you’d learn something? Pat Payne is a freelance columnist. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Check Card! ^ v*r/n Bank q# U.s ga , tUder)t Checkin ,, * °ar* Check n K ng U-S. „ c* °arc/ •’us*f***»Ce^ fian/c /n+ ^fikinq * U s-s netBi» Pay ' US^C?MCC0^ ^arcf F°r m°re'"formation st0Dh °«fCo«Cfl, ' pby your local u D ®7° East Tzfy? branch Bank°n 730,0 . 5°9ene, ORha^nue ^<*4^ 54,‘^o 7407 Member p0/c ■f/V< anir C Star Service a Le<-'Uarant„ , }aranteed.
