{"id":1651,"date":"2016-05-01T23:52:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T03:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/?p=1651"},"modified":"2021-07-17T18:32:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T22:32:41","slug":"dave-matthews-bands-crash-at-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/01\/dave-matthews-bands-crash-at-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Matthews Band’s ‘Crash’ at 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Matthews Band’s Crash<\/em><\/a> turned twenty on April 30, 2016.<\/p>\n

\"dmb<\/p>\n

I don’t have time to mark all such occasions for albums from ~1996 that I hold up as iconic, but I did so for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness<\/em><\/a> and must do so again here. Like that other entry, this won’t be a song-by-song novella, but I’d still like to log some thoughts to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

Depending on how you parse it, Crash<\/em> is either the second or third album released by the band. I suppose it’s officially seen as the second major label release (after 1994’s Under the Table and Dreaming<\/em>) and studio album. However, this doesn’t count the band’s self-released debut Remember Two Things<\/em> from 1993, a mix of live and studio recordings that was eventually given a wider, major label pressing and re-release. Be it second or third, Crash<\/em> was a juggernaut. “Crash Into Me,” “So Much to Say,” “Too Much,” and “Tripping Billies” dominated the airwaves, and the album is currently 7X platinum. Stats aside, this album is a monumental one for me personally. Regular readers should know by now that DMB is a cornerstone<\/a> of my musical DNA, and this album was my “patient zero” — my entry point.<\/p>\n

Even though “What Would You Say?” and “Ants Marching” had crossed my ears, I distinctly remember the time I first I knowingly heard “So Much to Say,” Crash<\/em>‘s lead single. To date this then-adolescent, I was watching MTV and taken aback by seeing a saxophonist playing in such a quality, catchy song. I dug it and wanted more. Not long after, I purchased the CD and quickly seared every note and syllable into my brain. I listened to the full album constantly: at home, in the car, on my bike, doing yard work, walking around the neighborhood, etc. And I mean the full album — every last song. Often times I’d put in the CD and just select “repeat all” and let it go. I would of course go through spurts where I listened to some songs repetitively more than others, but in this album’s case every song got a turn. Nothing was glossed over.<\/p>\n

Fast favorites for me were “#41,” “Two Step,” and “Let You Down,” but that studio recording of “#41” left a specific still-deep impression for several reasons. The instrumental jam, though short by the band’s live standards, particularly engaged this then-young saxophone student. By 1996, I had fallen down the rock rabbit hole. I made room for other styles, too, but as I wrote here<\/a> I was under the spell of Smashing Pumpkins et al. That said, I also had a burgeoning interest in the saxophone, and there really no bands that I was aware of that included a fully-integrated saxophonist. I mean, I listened to a ton of oldies growing up. However, as I wrote here<\/a>, much of the sax’s use then (and to a large extent now) was either a novelty or a cameo. Furthermore, those bands that did regularly use saxophone still preferred to exploit that honky rhythm & blues sound (e.g., Pink Floyd). So, to hear an album by a current band that both included sax and was good (great!) made quite an impression. And not only did it include saxophone, but the instrument was integral to the record’s — and, as I later learned, the band’s — sound, be it in the background, foreground, or just part of the overall texture.<\/p>\n

Another thing about “#41” that was important for me at the time was the realization and understanding that some sort of improvising was occurring. At the time (I was 12 going on 13 — cut me some slack), I knew of jazz but wasn’t strongly interested in it, and the idea of full-blown improvising was something I knew happened, but not for extended periods of time in more “mainstream” solos and styles. Also, to focus to Crash<\/em>, LeRoi Moore<\/a>‘s brief riff-based solo on “Too Much” remains intact to this day, though it did go away for a few years<\/a>. I heard the same thing on\u00a0Letterman<\/a> as I did on the album. “#41,” though, was another story. The violin and flute solos I liked, but they were short and bounced along with the rhythmic feel from the song proper. Roi’s sax solo, on the other hand…that was a whole different entity for me. In fact, I listened to that solo so much that I almost considered it a different song. Looking back, I think it was the first instrumental solo I committed to memory. I could sing or whistle it at the drop of a hat. Carter’s cymbal crash at 04:27 helps note the shift in feel, and Roi’s off to the races.<\/p>\n

(Imagine my delight when, in 2010, Jeff Coffin<\/a> and Rashawn Ross started playing an interlude horn line that used bits from Roi’s studio solo…)<\/p>\n

In fact, I often thought of it as the “Moonlighting<\/em> solo” to myself, as the rhythm section’s groove reminded me of the Moonlighting<\/em> theme song. (A song that, when I heard it by the time I was 6, I really liked. Having recently listened back<\/a> via YouTube, I don’t remain as sold on it, but in my mind there’s a connection. Ha!)<\/p>\n

Even though “#41” remained a centerpiece (and to this day my favorite DMB song), it certainly wasn’t the only piece to make an impression. Instrumentally, Roi’s solo on the outro of “Proudest Monkey” was another improvisatory standout. That, and his soprano sax tone sounded magnificent to me. Even now, when I think of soprano tone, that’s one of the first things to come to mind along with Dave Liebman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That’s enough shop talk, though. Back to the album at large.<\/p>\n

Not only was the saxophone’s immersion in the band’s sound a game-changer, but so was the band’s overall sound of being a rock band with no lead guitar. (Well, at least at it’s core. I continue to contest that being the case these days<\/a>.) Yes, Tim Reynolds is present throughout the album, but he’s felt more than explicitly heard. Instead, I was listening to a band that figured out how to rock with both a violin and saxophone (and flute!). Wild!<\/p>\n

Also, Crash<\/em> covers a fair amount of stylistic ground. The overall atmosphere of the album is cohesive, but the band covers a respectable range that includes rock\/pop (“So Much to Say,” “Too Much,” “Tripping Billies”), more jam- and jazz-influenced fare (“#41,” “Say Goodbye,” and “Proudest Monkey”), ballads (“Crash Into Me,” “Let You Down,” “Cry Freedom”), the in-between (“Lie In Our Graves”), and a couple hard-driving selections (“Two Step,” “Drive In Drive Out”).<\/p>\n

Most people consider the follow-up, 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets<\/em>, to be the band’s best album, and it’s a consistent favorite among much of the hardcore fan base. I definitely see where BTCS<\/em> devotees are coming from (and, in some respects, I agree that it’s DMB’s best): it’s an epic album with superb songs. That said, its grandiosity is something that gets in the way when I’m thinking of what makes an album my favorite when it comes to DMB (or most any band, I suppose). BTCS<\/em> features Alanis Morissette, B\u00e9la Fleck, Kronos Quartet, and many more. It’s a big studio undertaking whereas Crash<\/em>, still a big studio album, features the core five (plus Tim Reynolds) and, for the most part, features a pretty “live” sound. One drawback I always saw with Under the Table and Dreaming<\/em> was the production — maybe it was the time and technology, but the album has much less of a “live” presence than Crash<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Crash<\/em> is my personal favorite. Admittedly, it may partially be for nostalgic reasons, as it’s where it all started for me. Even so, it’s the band’s studio album I listen to the most, and it’s the one I keep handy in case I need a fix. For example, I use my iPod Classic when I’m on the move, but I do keep select albums on my iPhone and iPad, and Crash<\/em> is always the first DMB one to get thrown on there. Its song selection, live sound, and lack of guests (beyond Reynolds) combine to offer a great distillation of a band that’s become a real piece of my life over these last two decades.<\/p>\n

And with that, here’s to many more with\u00a0Crash<\/em> and the band…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Matthews Band’s Crash turned twenty on April 30, 2016. I don’t have time to mark all such occasions for albums from ~1996 that I hold up as iconic, but I did so for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and must do so again here. Like that other entry, this won’t be a song-by-song […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[594,1161,1079,102],"class_list":["post-1651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-594","tag-album-anniversary","tag-crash","tag-dave-matthews-band"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1651"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1925,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1651\/revisions\/1925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}