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by Jim Harrington

It didn't take a genius to come up with this idea: Take one of the world's best live bands, put it in one of the country's most beautiful concert settings and let the tape roll.

It shouldn't surprise anybody that "Weekend on the Rocks," the Dave Matthews Band (music)'s two-disc document of its four-night stand this past September at Colorado's gorgeous Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an absolute winner.

Having attended three of the four shows, this critic can attest that the producers did a good job in compiling a representative sample of the long "Weekend."

May 19th, 2005

 ^{"What do you get when you combine a veteran jam band with 50 Cent's producer? One likeable album.}

^{By Christian Hoard (3.5 stars)}

One advantage of actually being able to play your instruments: Midcareer crises are often less scary. In the four-plus years since DMB last convened to write and record a new album, its members have toured the country several times over; released four live albums and the rejiggered leftovers collection Busted Stuff; and taken time out as the band's frontman recorded a successful, if lightweight, solo debut. The group also dipped its toe into politics, playing concerts for John Kerry on the Vote for Change Tour. But if you were expecting the band to be bogged down by fame, fatigue, or global politics on its thirteenth album Stand Up, you haven't been paying much attention to this twelve-year-old quintet.

May 10th, 2005

_{Blender Album Review} 

_{Reviewed by Ann Powers}

Is anybody else sick of hearing Dave Matthews declare himself a nutcake? Locked in mortal combat with a perennially boring haircut, this 38-year-old husband, father of twins and musical monogamist (he’s worked with the same band for 14 years) wields the darkness in his soul like a weapon he just can’t keep concealed.

In interviews, Matthews blurts about suicidal impulses; onstage he babbles in a nonlinear patois fans dub “Davespeak.” And in his lyrics, so often quoted in yearbooks and bathroom stalls, he trips on a tightrope between despair and desire, unable to decide whether to dive off a ledge or beneath his lover’s skirt.

Beyond the normal human mood swings, Matthews has a troubled history: being partly raised in apartheid-riven South Africa, his dad and then sister dying young, having to wait tables before getting so famous, all those fans bootlegging and that waste-dumping problem in Chicago last year. But maybe the real reason he puts on the crazy clothes is because they suit the music he hears in his head and translates into unlikely hit records.

By: DOUG RUTSCH

It’s so easy to make fun of Dave Matthews. His songs are unavoidably catchy, his voice is weird yet still rhythmic, and of course, every single thing he creates sounds exactly the same. But say what you will about the Dave Matthews Band — even those who profess their dislike of his college-rock stylings have a couple songs they secretly enjoy.

But violinist Boyd Tinsley released his own solo album, and now it’s Dave’s turn for a little me time — proof that even the band members want a little variety from the group’s unchanging sound.

The results, however, are mixed.

August 14th, 2002

Billy Mabray

I'm pretty sure I've liked every Dave Matthews song I've ever heard, which makes it strange that this is only the second of their CDs that I've bought. Considering that DMB (which is what all the cool people call them) releases about a dozen CDs per year (give or take the difference between a dozen and the actual number), it's even more amazing that I've avoided them this long. I've finally traced the reason for this back to a psychologically scarring event in my childhood. Back then, all of my music purchases were from either Columbia House or BMG. In one of my bulk purchases, I ordered Crush, because I'd always liked the song, "What Would You Say." Yes, of course, you know that song is actually on Under the Table and Dreaming, but, at the time, I didn't. It didn't matter how good the CD was, I was still disappointed. And I had held that against DMB all these years.

Well, for shame on me. Busted Stuff is a good album. And it has a story, which makes any CD better. It seems that DMB made an album several years ago that was never released. That, of course, didn't keep it from making the rounds on the Internet. Busted Stuff contains new versions of many of those songs. I've never heard the old versions -- supposedly, they're darker and, according to some, better than the new versions. I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. The new versions are very, very good. I don't believe your life will be any worse for having never heard the old ones.

Allstar Magazine -

Dave Matthews taps into his more political -- and at the same time, darker -- side on the band's forthcoming album, Before These Crowded Streets, due April 28 on RCA.

Some of the most compelling tracks on the album, which was produced by Steve Lillywhite, who also produced 1996's Crash and 1994's Under the Table and Dreaming, are the ones that veer off from the group's usual happy, infectious songs. (Not that there's anything wrong with upbeat tunes, of course.) "The Last Stop," the first single "Don't Drink the Water," and the revamped "Halloween" are among the songs that capture Matthews' more manic vocal presentation, in which on the former two he's practically screaming at the end.

March 18th, 1998

_{By CARRIE BORZILLO - Billboard}

Dave Matthews may have seemed fairly mild-mannered on his band's previous albums, but with the April 28 release of ``Before These Crowded Streets'' on RCA, he gives fans a glimpse of his brooding, more intense side.

"Yeah, it's definitely a lot darker,'' says the South African born/Virginia-based singer/guitarist/songwriter about the project. "The only song that is happy is `Stay,' but it's still a desperate-sounding song."