Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College
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Free Music Notes for Live at Luther College
Free Music Review: Amazing Set
Hit: 5 Stars
The second live album in a series of live releases by the Dave Matthews Band hit record stores this week, coinciding with the beginning of the longest Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds acoustic tour to date. The new two-disc album, entitled Live at Luther College, was recorded at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa on February 6, 1996. Just like Live at Red Rocks, the new album combines an eclectic mix of Dave Matthews songs. However, there is one thing missing: Dave is playing without the talents of the rest of the band. Along with his friend, guitarist virtuoso and fellow Charlottesville, Virginia native Tim Reynolds, Matthews plays a 23-song acoustic set that, in a word, is breathtaking.
Matthews opens the concert with mellow versions of "One Sweet World" and the beautiful "#41" that set the tone for the rest of the show. He steps up the intensity of the concert with lively renditions of "Tripping Billies" and "Jimi Thing," which is followed by its usual outro, "What Will Become of Me?" Radio songs such as "Crash," "Satellite" and "What Would You Say?" are all performed beautifully by Matthews and Reynolds.
Have you ever heard a DMB song and complained you can't understand what Matthews is saying? After hearing Live at Luther, you will know the lyrics to Matthews' indecipherable "Halloween" as well as other songs, because his voice is not competing with Beauford's drums, Lessard's saxophone, Tinsley's electric violin and Moore's pounding bass. Matthews eloquently belts out the lyrics, showing off his vocal prowess in this show.
During "Cry Freedom," "Christmas Song" and "Lover Lay Down," the crowd is completely silent, listening attentively to every word that comes out of the troubadour's mouth. It is so quiet you can hear Matthews sliding his hands up and down the guitar and tapping on the base of it to keep a beat.
There are several instances of crowd interaction during the concert. After "Cry Freedom," someone in the audience shouts, "Play _Say Goodbye'!" Matthews responds in an English accent, saying, "Alright mate, but first I'm going to play this one." He then goes into "Dancing Nancies," prefacing it by saying, "I watched the Pink Panther last night, and so I'm trying desperately to be funny, and it's not working out so good I wonder [if] maybe I could have been a comedian or something?"
The second set is as tantamount in quality as the first set, and is arguably a better one. Highlights include upbeat and energized performances of Under the Table and Dreaming hits "Typical Situation," "Warehouse" and everyone's favorite, "Ants Marching." The high poit of disc two is "Say Goodbye," which is powerful and emotional when performed live.
During the entire concert, Reynolds doesn't utter a single word, but he doesn't have to - his guitar does all the talking. Reynolds complements Matthews superbly by adding his talents to the mix. At one point Matthews says, "I'm going to ask Timmy to play something for you. I just can't go an evening without him doing something I don't have to do anything and I can just get blown away." Reynolds begins his intense instrumental song "Stream," which has the crowd cheering throughout.
The set features the unreleased songs "Little Thing," "Deed is Done" and "Granny," which is a popular song among DMB concertgoers. The set is concluded as a fan calls out a request for "Song That Jane Likes," and Matthews replies while playing the chords of the final song. He says, "Yeah, I've got to learn that one again, because I love it so much. But I am a little scared right now because I'll mess it up and then I'll be all embarrassed." Matthews concludes the evening with "Two Step" and promises the crowd he will see them again.
Some may say that there is no reason to buy Live at Luther, because you probably already have all of the songs on the three studio albums. Although this may be true, the studio versions cannot compete with their live counterparts. The live versions are more energized and powerful. Matthews takes risks on stage, experimenting with the lyrics and music of his songs, and sometimes making lyrics up as he goes. If you have ever been to a DMB concert, you are familiar with Matthews' style. If you haven't, go out and buy Live at Luther College, and you will soon realize that Dave Matthews (band or no band) is undoubtedly the "Best of What's Around."
Free Music Review: These amazing guitarists take acoustic guitar to a new level
Hit: 5 Stars
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, the acoustic guitar duo featured on this album, demonstrate their nearly unlimited ability to embellish ideas and take the unconventional avenue when performing live before an audience. These two guitarists have a certain chemistry between them that allows them to take an original song, by Dave Matthews, and make it sound almost entirely different to a new listener, or an old fan. Dave's incredible talents as a singer and guitarist combine with Tim's rather uncanny but fantastic guitar improvistions and solos to make this CD well worth any price.The two disc set features many songs that, at the time in 1996, were new to even a Dave fanatic. However, Dave made sure that many of the old favorites like "One Sweet World", "Warehouse", and "Ants Marching" made their way into the setlist. This album has a number of times in which Dave, in between songs, talks to the audience and makes funny comments before moving to the next song. This, though to some it may be annoying, establishes the mood and really gives the listener a laugh and makes them feel like they are even at the concert. The duo has a few songs in which they segue into another song. "What Would You Say", which is taken at an unusually slow tempo, moves into a jazzy scat jam, and then changes moods entirely by running into the dark sounding "Minarets". "Jimi Thing", a rather upbeat song with "ambiguous" lyrics, is performed beginning to end and then moves into the more melancholy sound of the unreleased "What Will Become of Me?". One of the highlights of the album is an unreleased song that was conceived during the tour, "Little Thing". This song begins with a story told by Dave which moves into a nostalgic, sad, almost haunting song in which almost none of his lyrics can be understood when hearing it for the first time.
Tim is featured throughout the album, and perhaps the one song that draws a listeners attention most to his virtuosity on the guitar is "Stream". The song is amazing, but he seems a little timid and it has been performed better on his other albums, some also worth purchasing. He also plays this song on a six-string guitar, when it sounds more convincing on a twelve-string.
Overall this album is one that could potentially or instantly be a favorite of any listener. These two have taken a variety of types of music and sounds and put them together to form an amalgam of great acoustic guitar music. This is one of the few CDs that can appease any person's tastes in music, and one of the few in which every song is a great song. You will not grow tired of hearing this album.
Free Music Review: THIS YOU MUST BUY!!!! ABSOLUTLY INCREDIBLE!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is by far the best Dave Matthews live album, Red Rocks a close second and Listener and distant third. Dave and Tim acoustic are absolutly incredible. The best part is Dave allows you to tape his shows so you can find mp3's and complete shows of them on the internet!!! Let's go in detail. First off, this is an ablum for people who like older Dave. This has nothing from "Everyday" and one song from "Before These Crowded Streets" which is "Halloween". This is for the obvious reason that the show they played took place in February of 1996. It's pretty cool because before he plays "Crash Into Me", he says "This is a sweet song, I hope". It's also nice because you don't have nuts screaming in the middle of the song #41 and Say Goodbye. Hilights of the show include "One Sweet World" (always a tight song) "#41", "Jimi Thing" is pretty sweet as well. "Deed is Done", "Lover Lay Down" (oh so rare) "What Would You Say" is really diffrent from UTTAD, "Dancing Nancies" is always cool and "Typical Situation" has to be one of the best songs on the cd, "Stream", what can you say about "Stream"...Tim is possibly the most incredible guitar player of our time. He proves it in "Stream". I can't explain how incredible it is, just listen. "Say Goodbye" is real tight and "Ants Marching" is pretty basic. "Halloween" is real dark but real sweet. Dave is hard to understand but its real cool. "Granny" is pretty sweet as well. However, they must've saved the best song for last. PEOPLE "TWO STEP" IS ALWAYS A TIGHT SONG, BUT THIS IS THE BEST VERSION I HAVE EVER HEARD....IT USUALLY DOESNT SUIT WELL FOR AN ENDING SONG, BUT THE WAY DAVE LEADS OUT OF IT IS ABSOLUTLY INCREDIBLE. ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME SHOULD REALLY PAY ATTENTION MORE. There you have it folks, my review. If you have any questions, or just wanna chat about Dave email me I always love talking about him as you can see by this long review. Just for anyone who doesnt know, its an acoustic show obviously, just Dave and Tim playin acoustic guitars, and Tim doesn't talk or sing at all. Buy this, its two discs of incredible music.Free Music Review: My Favorite Album
Hit: 5 Stars
Yep. This album, out of my entire library, is my overall favorite.Before I heard this album, I wasn't really into Dave Matthews Band at all. I had heard some singles and thought they were good, but not really enough to warrant digging deeper or really listening to the band.
The moment Tripping Billies graced the speakers of the friend's house I was at, everything changed. Everything seemed to click and I was amazed at the chemistry that Dave and Tim had and at the awesomeness of the performance. Not to mention the song totally ruled.
After that I got my own copy of the album and systematically fell in love with almost every single song on it. There are almost no misses here, every song is played beautifully and flawlessly. The tone of their guitars is also stunning, whoever recorded this thing knows how to record a guitar tone the right way. You can hear so much nuance and sound coming from their guitars, its just stunning. The crowd is also wonderful for this show; they actually shut up during the quiet parts (for the most part).
Song highlights include basically everything. You'll eventually come to love pretty much every song on this thing and play it over and over again; I know I did. But if you really need highlights, try an awesome rendition of the rare Deed Is Done. Or how about a nice, slow, funky What Would You Say segued into Screaming From The Minarets? Maybe the wonderful performances of Dancing Nancies, Cry Freedom, Tripping Billies, One Sweet World and #41.
But the REALLY good stuff is on disc 2. It starts out with maybe the best Typical Situation ever played - ever. Tim Reynolds' guitar solo is simply something that needs to be heard. You'll be able to clean the floor with your jaw. Stream is a tour-de-force and will reteach you how to play the guitar. Warehouse is...indescribable. I dunno if I have much more room to write, but I have to mention Seek Up, Say Goodbye, Ants Marching, a stunning Halloween, and a beautiful Two Step.
Quite simply, this is my favorite album of all time. Mainly because it brings back many old memories, but still new ones are being created every time I listen to it.
If you haven't heard much Dave Matthews Band, LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM FIRST.
Free Music Review: Not a big DMB fan, but this set is fantastic!
Hit: 5 Stars
Having lived with two DMB fans, one of whom virtually worships the man and his band, I have been exposed to the vast majority of their tunes. I think they're talented, but between Dave's somewhat indecipherable vocals and the sometimes over-the-top instrumentation, I find that whatever message they're trying to convey often gets buried.
That being said, "Live at Luther College" is most definitely one (or two, if a two-disc set can't count as one) of the ten recordings I'd want with me if I were stranded on a desert island.
I'd give all but maybe one or two songs a 5-star rating. Even the "Christmas Song," which, subject-wise, isn't exactly my cup of tea, is just too perfectly executed to deny.
There are thousands of recordings that use electric guitar and of which I'm a huge fan, but if I had to choose, I prefer the purity of acoustic guitar. The use of acoustic guitars alone gives this set a huge edge.
And Tim Reynolds is a virtuoso--probably as technically gifted as many respected classical guitarists, but with an equally impeccable ability to reinvent each of Dave's songs so that they have every bit as much groove, humor, emotion, and force (and often more) as they did with his full band backing him up. Dave isn't half-bad either.
And while they take their guitars to the very limits of unplugged rock, Dave's voice is still able to shine through clearly, and I can actually understand what he's saying more often than not (I've actually memorized most of the album, although there are some areas where I still mumble incoherent phrases in conjunction with what seems to be coming out of Dave's mouth).
Virtually all of the power and emotion is generated by the musicians themselves, not by special effects or gadgets, and you can really feel what a memorable experience it must have been to attend that show.