Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King

I still haven't received my Special Edition album in the mail yet, with full artwork and bonus tracks, but I have gotten my hands on the thirteen songs on the album. I cannot stop listening to it. Produced by Rob Cavallo, the Dave Matthews Band has put together a solid album that has something for pretty much every listener. From grooving dance beats to jazzy bass lines and ringing, saucy horns, the culmination of over a years worth of writing has really paid off. There are a few songs that were not released on this album, but I am sure they are to be released in the near future, if not laid among the stunning live performance recordings.

This isn't the playful ballads we received on earlier works from the band like albums Under The Table And Dreaming and Before These Crowded Streets. The band dug deep to the roots of why they make music in the first place, while also reflecting on the life of the late and great LeRoi Moore. Pulling together created this funky, yet jam-esque stack of tracks that (I believe) is their strongest album to date. This was a very big step up from the politically motivated Stand Up album in 2005. It isn't known if the band will pull together for another studio album in the future, but it does appear that the band has been given a new, refreshed outlook on the road ahead that will shape the music that has still yet to be written. I will never get tired of waiting in heavy anticipation for a Dave Matthews Band album. Great work.

Oh, and also.. Dave Matthews decided to take the art direction for the album in to his own hands. He illustrated each song and the cover in a very interesting way. I appreciated this aspect and thought I would share that with you! So go out and buy the album people!