I received my copy of the Dave Matthews Band‘s new album Stand Up on Tuesday. I pre-ordered it online so I could get the 5-track bonus disk and a sticker. To me it was well worth it. Of course, if Dave Matthews put out an album of pan flute music I would buy it, so maybe I’m a little biased.
This the first album I’ve purchased as a “Dual Disc”. It’s a CD on one side and a DVD on the other. Hastings is selling the Dual Disc and the regular CD for the same price. The DVD side has a 20 minute movie on the making of the album that’s actually pretty interesting. I was a little concerned when I turned the case over and saw this on the back:
The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore not all DVD and CD players will play the audio side of this disc.
That sounds kinda scary to me. So far it’s played in my home stereo and my car. We’ll see how it does when I try to rip it with iTunes so I can listen to it on my shuffle.
Overall, I like the new album. But, it’s different from their other stuff. The days of folksy acoustic guitar songs are over. They worked with a new producer on this album – Mark Batson. He comes from a hip-hop background, and it shows on this album. Their older stuff had an almost live feel, everything sounded very natural. This album sounds like a lot of it was done in Pro Tools. Not that it’s bad, just different. It seems like this album is missing a little of the energy that their earlier stuff had so much of.
I find myself listening to their live albums more than their studio albums these days. I’ve already taken Stand Up out of my car and put Live in Chicago back in. That’s what makes the Dave Matthews Band so great – they can play the same songs every night yet still add something new each time. I’m really looking forward to hearing some of the new songs on a live album. I think performing these songs together as a band, in front of an audience will really make a difference.
