Before These Crowded Streets

DMB is a band I’ve known OF for years, but I’ve never actually listened to. I’ve always shied away from the “jam band” term, and I know it’s groovy-funky-music-nerd stuff. Boy I wish I hadn’t, lol. This is borderline fantastic. It IS super-pretentious conservatorium fodder, but it’s also got a sweet 90s groove that I really like. It’s a product of its time in a distinct way, like if Pearl Jam if Toto was the main influence rather than Aerosmith. This will definitely go in my “background music on long drives” playlist. 4/5.

I think this album has all the elements that make DMB's music so instantly recognizable. It showcases his ability to write catchy songs, incorporating different musical styles while making it sound effortless. Nice one!

Dave Matthews Band WAS Midwest US college music in the late 90s. Great addition to the list. Thanks for suggesting.

DMB is a group I have a very cursory experience with. I feel like they sort of get shit on by folks but I don’t find it that bad. If can see why some people really like it. Honestly it always sounds to me like a bunch of real good musicians that are having a blast playing together and I can always get behind that, although it personally doesn’t do much for me.

His real fans call him Dave. Liked this a lot more than I thought I would! Not ready to buy one of those dancer stickers and put it on my Suburu, though.

ca me rappelle tellement de bon souvenirs 4.95

Surprisingly good, although I'd say it definitely is bloated. I can see why Dave Matthews live might be more interesting.

Never heard of DMB before but very impressed!

I haven't actually listened to much of this group, aside from the singles that hit true cultural saturation. I always felt the purist hate Matthew's sometimes attracted was unnecessary, though I will allow the particular affectation of his vocal style wears very thin for me at length. This went wierder and darker than Id have expected, both to its benefit.

If you liked Dave before you will like this, if you don’t like Dave you won’t like this

Rather toothless as fusion goes, the album certainly has a sense of humor about itself. The length feels less annoying and more silly. Before These Crowded Streets is worth considering and unlikely to convince.

After years and years of hearing about Dave Matthews Band while knowing NOTHING about them, finally time to take my first step! And... it's jazz fusion? Huh. Honestly wasn't expecting that. Good stuff though. Manages a very commercial jazz fusion/alt rock sound while still being very, VERY excellently played. Carter Beauford alone honestly brings this to 4 stars. Hold up they even got Bela Fleck in this? Wild.

I didn't get my driver's license until I was 27 years old. Because of this I had to depend on a lot of other people for rides anywhere/everywhere I went - a lot of people with a wide variety of music tastes. This was mostly when I was a teenager in the 90s, before I moved to smaller college towns where I could get around without a car. It goes without saying Dave Matthews was quite popular at that time, and I had many people giving me rides who were fans. By this point I was shuffling my way towards being a hipster, and shying away from most mainstream music on my own time. So, I never owned any Dave Matthews CDs or anything, but I ended up listening to him quite a bit. I'll tell you, most of those people who were fans, were some of the nicest, more generous people I knew at the time. I know Dave Matthews is the butt of many jokes for some reason, but I don't find his music any great pain to listen to. It's not the feel good jam band fluff the internet might have you believe. At least not on this album. In fact I'd say it's pretty out there, challenging even, for what was a multi-platinum Billboard chart topper. Just listen to "Halloween" for example - it's unhinged. Or, better yet, just to show you how much DMB I listened to back in the day, listen to the live version of "Halloween" from the "Recently" EP. Besides a handful of standout tracks, I can't say I love this, but I don't think it deserves the shit talking it gets from my hipster peers. This album certainly brings me right back to the CD era - secret tracks and all.

I was kind of into Dave Matthews back in the day. I even saw them on their Under the Table and Dreaming tour. Listening to this album I can see why I liked them. They are clearly great musicians who play well together, and the songs and arrangements are strong. If I'm being honest though, it's just a bit bland, and it goes on too long. 3 stars.

Some intelligent pop for once. Mathews’s interesting voice makes listening to vocals tolerable. His voice is another instrument. The poetry is goofy but the musicianship is excellent. Three stars

I never have like Dave, however, his band is stellar and they jam out like none other.

A band I know by name and some hits, but I never heared an entire album of them. And it felt a little strange because I thought of Dave Matthews as an alternative guitarpop band, but this album is more than meets the eye with a lot of other musical influences. I got really into this.

“On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus's blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto an open top passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below.” Which means this album isn’t the only pile of shit that came from the DMB. 4/10

3/10. Y'all's reviews got my hopes up. Disliked the singing, the lyricism was hit or miss (with a tendency towards miss), the instrumentals just felt a bit stiff and lifeless to me, and then it just takes itself so seriously with the long-running songs. And then the 70 minute runtime was gratuitous, but that's the 90s for ya. I thought the dreaming tree was okay, maybe because Stockholm syndrome had set in at that point, or maybe because my mind was wandering for the first half of it so it didn't feel as long.

Interesting sound but not my taste

I know they are big in the USA. Never understood why

Fantastic.

Amazing! It should be in the 1001

Such a great album. The Stone, Rapunzel, and Pig are favorites for me.

Oh DMB! Great submission! They were definitely overlooked by Dimry. You could also have put in Under the Table and Dreaming or Crash, both wonderful albums that represent the group perfectly as well. I love the drama of DMB, best expressed in songs like Crush. I also love the whimsy and playfulness. It’s the full package. Jazzy, funky, soulful, cool. It checks every box. Love it and grateful for the well thought out submission. Thanks rando generator pal!

For some reason the Dave Matthews Band upsets some people, but I quite enjoyed them in the 90s. While Under The Table and Dreaming is still my favorite, this one was a pretty interesting evolution of the band’s sound that I enjoyed at the time. I didn’t follow the band much after this, my musical tastes wandered in other directions, but it was great to come back to this. The original 1001 list is deficient for not having a single album from Dave Matthews Band so I’ll be rounding this score up!

Never really think much about listening to an entire Dave Matthews Band album...just doesn't interest me that much. It was a good listen.

Personally, the '90s to me makes me think of the Dave Matthews Band right away, so I was a little surprised that they didn't slip any albums into the 1001 list. This isn't the album of theirs that I know best, but it's one I've really been impressed with, enjoyed, and so glad to have heard today. Good stuff!

Do you think "Don't Drink The Water" is a reference to their future 2004 Chicago River incident

Most either love them or hate them.... I'm indifferent. Standouts: Rapunzel, Crush 3.75

I was really into DMB in high school so listening to this album was a fun blast from the past. This is their strongest album thematically and musically. It is much more brooding and builds its song over time resulting in huge emotional releases. I think the derision DMB gets is often overblown as this album shows their ability to make a great album.

I enjoyed the journey. The strings and woodwinds layered with a warm contemporary slower jazz has a great vibe to it that was able to keep me engaged. Though Crush and Don’t Drink the Water stand out the most for me, the rest of the album has does a pretty decent job of staying interesting. The arrangements are really the king here. Definitely fun!

Seems that on a lot of these songs, Dave Matthews is grunting or screaming as if he needed some bran in his diet. He puts a lot of emotional effort into his music, sometimes unnecessarily. It's a good album that I'd listen to again.

Lots of energy. Bit over the top.

3 surprisingly good!

Sophisticated light rock with “rock” violin. Surprised DMB weren’t already on the list given their popularity with the USA students I met in the 1990s. It’s quite good, but doesn’t quite keep my interest.

Rating: 6/10

I've never particularly been a DMB fan, but they are one of those artists I absolutely expected to see on the original list because they deserve to be there. Thanks for sharing. I can't compare this to other albums in Dave Matthews' discography, but it was a really solid listen. Creative and well crafted, with rich instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics. Still not a fan of Matthews' vocal style, which is weirdly overwrought at times. Arrangements feel multilayered, loose and improvisational, sometimes to the point where it really just gets too busy. Enjoyed "Crush." Loved "Spoon" and "The Stone." Fave Songs: Spoon, The Stone, Crush, Stay (Wasting Time), Pig, The Dreaming Tree, Don't Drink the Water

Alternative rock, jazz fusion, progressive rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Bits and pieces i liked

About as exciting and pleasurable a Dave Matthew's Band experience as those Chicago tourists got in 2004.

Had only heard of this band referenced by US Tv shows, aggressively middle of the road

What’s the difference between the DMV and the DMB? Not too much as you spend way too much time on it and you come out of it feeling better than other people. To me the DMB was a late 90s cult of listening. It was the non-grunge intellectual music that people felt different listening too. In the late 90s that may have been pretty cool, but to me it just seems like a white dude taking styles from all over and saying check this out. Were different. But was it good? Not exactly. 5.2/10

This album is BLOATED. Every song is between 5 and 9 minutes long. It includes pan pies. The Augustus Gloop of country rock. It's just too much. Rating: 2 Playlist track: Don't Drink the Water Date listened: 23/09/24

I hope this one was an actual troll because someone who chooses a 70 minute long Dave Matthew’s album that doesn’t even have any of his big hits on it deserves to be drawn and quartered. This was so boring and the more edgy heavy vibe does not work with Dave Matthew’s.

This music is a vehicle for beer pong and bong rips.

Ugh I really was hoping to avoid listening to any Dave Matthews Band. But here we are. I did not care for the album and I do not care for DMB. It is entirely way to long and it is just annoying. It is not the worst on the list, but I will round down.

noooooooooo

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