Album of the Day — July 11
Dave Matthews Band — Under the Table and Dreaming
Dave Matthews Band — Under the Table and Dreaming
11.July.2020
Dave Matthews Band
Under The Table And Dreaming
1994
The Dave Matthews Band is the cotton candy of music. It’s traditionally served up in the summer, inexplicably delicious but you can’t live off of it.
The Dave Matthews Band formed as he was bartending at a place called Millers in Charlottesville, Virginia.
And was built the same way every other band is, meeting people, bullshitting, getting introductions, bullshitting, and jamming.
For one reason or another, some bands are just destined for greatness … and the Dave Matthews Band was one of them.
A [very] brief history:
A friend encourages Dave to approach drummer Carter Beauford.
Dave approached sax player LeRoi Moore.
The three-piece rehearse & they suck — “Sometimes it amazes me that we ever had a second rehearsal.” — they need more instrumentation.
University of Virginia orchestra conductor John D’earth suggested bass player Stefan Lessard.
Fellow Miller’s employee Peter Griesar became the band’s first keyboardist.
LeRoi Moore’s friend, violinist Boyd Tinsley, added some fiddle to “Tripping Billies” and became an official member in 1992.
The band’s first in-studio demo was recorded in early 1991 and consisted of “Song That Jane Likes”, “Recently”, “Best of What’s Around”, and “I’ll Back You Up.”
The band toured, recorded an independent album, Remember Two Things, toured some more. There is nothing unique or original about the Dave Matthews Band. That’s not a slag on the band. They did the same thing that millions of bands have done. Well, with one exception.
The Dave Matthews Band just did everything better, in particular the musicianship … and sometimes that clicks with an audience.
Eventually, the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) signed with RCA Records.
1994
In January, Dave Matthews’ older sister, Anne, who lived in South Africa, was murdered by her husband, who subsequently committed suicide. The event had a profound effect on Matthews’ life.
In May, DMB begins recording their debut album in the hippie enclave of Woodstock, New York.
In September, Dave Matthews Band’s Under the Table and Dreaming, dedicated to his sister Anne, was released. This event would also have a profound effect on Matthews’ life.
After the suicide of Kurt Cobain in April of 1994, people were looking for music that was less dark and angry.
Bands like The Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, and Hootie and the Blowfish were more than happy to fill the void.
Jumping into the fray was the Dave Matthews Band.
Produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, Peter Gabriel, Counting Crows, et al) at the fabled Bearsville Studios, Under the Table and Dreaming sounded in line with the “jam” bands who would be considered their contemporaries … just better.
The first single from the album “What Would You Say” even includes a harmonica solo by Blues Traveler’s lead singer John Popper. And I guess this guy was driving through town because also on background vocals is former Yacht Rock, Admiral Michael McDonald.
By June of 1995 “What Would You Say” was as ubiquitous as sunrise and DMB were filling amphitheaters around the country. And while everyone sang along, it’s safe to say no one (maybe even Dave himself) can explain WTF the song is on about. Atomic bombs? Original Sin? Catchy as hell, but I dunno:
What Would You Say
Up and down the puppies’ hair
Fleas and ticks jump everywhere
’Cause of original sin
Down the hill fell Jack and Jill
And you came tumbling after
’Cause of original sin
Rip away the tears
Drink a hope for happy years
And you may find
A lifetime’s passed you by
What would you say
If you a monkey on a string
If you a doggie on a chain
What would you say
I was there when the bear
Ate his head, thought it was a candy
Everyone goes in the end
Knock knock on the door
Who’s it for, nobody in here
Look in the mirror my friend
I don’t understand at best
I cannot speak for all the rest
In the morning rise a lifetime’s passed me by
What would you say
(Don’t’ drop the big one)
If you a monkey on a string
(Don’t cut my life line)
If you a doggie on a chain
(Don’t bite the mailman)
What would you say
Every dog has it’s day every day has it’s way
Of being forgotten- “Mom it’s my birthday”
What would you say
(Don’t’ drop the big one)
If you a monkey on a string
(Don’t cut my life line)
If you a doggie on a chain
(Don’t bite the mailman)
What would you say
Of the five singles that would be released from Under the Table and Dreaming two would remain live favorites — “Jimi Thing” and “Typical Situation” — and the other two — “Ants Marching” and “Satellite” — would find modest chart success.
In one of his more cogent songs, “Ants Marching” reads like a metaphor on the banality of normal day-to-day life … to which I don’t think most could argue feeling like ants marching.
Ants Marching
He wakes up in the morning
Does his teeth bite to eat and he’s rolling
Never changes a thing
The week ends the week begins
She thinks, we look at each other
Wondering what the other is thinking
But we never say a thing
These crimes between us grow deeper
Goes to visit his mommy
She feeds him well his concerns
He forgets them
And remembers being small
Playing under the table and dreaming
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Driving in on this highway
All these cars and upon the sidewalk
People in every direction
No words exchanged
No time to exchange
When all the little ants are marching
Red and black antennae waving
They all do it the same
They all do it the same way
Candyman tempting the thoughts of a
Sweet tooth tortured by the weight loss
Program cutting the corners
Loose end, loose end, cut, cut
On the fence, could not to offend
Cut, cut, cut, cut
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Now “Satellite” is a love song … but has enough distance from anything too sappy so it can still appeal to the stoners and the people out of their minds on mushrooms. Lyrically, it is kind of nonsensical, but there’s enough sense so you can say “yea, I get it.”
But then again, it could be about the NSA.
Fuck if I know.
Satellite
Satellite in my eyes
Like a diamond in the sky
How I wonder
Satellite strung from the moon
And the world your balloon
Peeping Tom for the mother station
Winter’s cold, spring erases
And the calm away by the storm is chasing
Everything good needs replacing
Look up, look down all around, satellite
Satellite headlines read
Someone’s secrets you’ve seen
Eyes and ears have been
Satellite dish in my yard
Tell me more, tell me more
Who’s the king of your satellite castle?
Winter’s cold, spring erases
And the calm away by the storm is chasing
Everything good needs replacing
Look up, look down all around, hey satellite
Rest high above the clouds; no restriction
Television we bounce ‘round the world
And while I spend these hours
Five senses reeling
I laugh about the weatherman’s satellite eyes
While the lyrics on Under the Table and Dreaming can best be described as esoteric, it can’t be denied that the Dave Matthews Band is one of the best rock and roll bands touring today … if not in history.
Their musicianship continues to be a large part of their appeal, even to the non-musician like me. It’s not just that they play the songs so well when you see them, it’s that their improvisational skills are unmatched in the big rock settings they play in. Which tracks because DMB has always been stacked with exceptionally talented musicians.
Critics:
Robert Christgau: Gave the album a C+ … but more impressive, he gave it a cogent review — “Popular groundswells do vary in discernment, as students of jogging, nail care salons, and tax limits know. Like his homeboy and forebear Bruce Hornsby, Matthews jams politely. His instrumentation invokes classical, jazz, and bluegrass niceties. And although one can understand the deep-seated impatience with agony-as-entertainment his renown reflects, he’s as bland as a tofu sandwich.”
Chuck Eddy in Entertainment Weekly also gave it a C+ and said: “Their fancy folk-guitar picking and Latin percussion passages prove these biracial Virginia jam- rockers have chops. But the band mostly offers a formless brand of laid- back eclecticism, tainted by smarmy inner-awareness poetry.”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic gave the album 4.5/5 stars saying: “On their major-label debut, Under the Table and Dreaming, the Dave Matthews Band is helped by the lean production of Steve Lillywhite, who manages to rein in the group’s tendency to meander. The result is a set of eclectic pop/rock that is accentuated by bursts of instrumental virtuosity instead of being ruled by it.
Under the Table and Dreaming was a huge hit. The album helped DMB fill the void that was left when The Grateful Dead stopped touring during the summer after Jerry Gacria’s death.
As reliable as sunrise, DMB would saddle up and hit the sheds around the country each summer and the ants would march in unison to hear what is arguably the world’s best rock and roll band.
This summer won’t be like other summers because it will be one of the first ones in 25 years that the Dave Matthews Band won’t be touring.
I suppose there’s always the cotton candy.