'Big Whiskey' intoxicating
LiZ Wardlow
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: A&E
The Dave Matthews Band CD "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" may have been released in June. But it still is delivering the energetic, yet soothing melodies through headphones everywhere.
"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" is the seventh album the Dave Matthews Band has released and the first album since its four-year hiatus after its 2005 release of "Stand Up."
The "GrooGrux King" of the title was the band's nickname for saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died in summer 2008 after work on the new album had begun.
When I first heard this album I was turned off immediately because of my pure love of electronica. Through a friend's obsessive listening to the album I couldn't help but notice the Dave Matthews Band was worth another listen.
What drew me into the album was the song "Lying in the Hands of God." Moore's saxophone lingers in the background, while the sophisticated pulsation of pleasant, but sad, instrumentation aids the emotional lyrics Matthews sings. It's a perfect mixture of sweet and sad that gets me every time I listen to it.
"Squirm" entices listeners to "open up your head" while an Eastern feel is given to the beat and drums are pounded on loudly.
"Time Bomb" dishes out a feeling of political freedom. The beat is soft until a "bomb" of drums, guitar, bass and Matthews' voice attack ears.
If you are used to the original Dave Matthews Band material, the song "Shake Me like a Monkey" should satisfy you. It mates a funky, foot-pounding beat with a classic Matthews' tune.
Another song with the same Matthews' upbeat tempo is "Why I Am." The song is a reference to the "GrooGrux King" and how Moore will always have a place in the band.
Matthews' lyrics are not only tantalizing but keep up with his way of paradoxing words and riddling listeners into many ways of interpreting his songs.
The album is worth a listen over and over.
Moore does not go unnoticed, as he is the main focus of the album. It's a wonderful celebration of the life Moore lived.
Once a fan of anything but Matthews, I am now completely addicted to the "GrooGrux King."
Check out the band at www.
davematthewsband.com.
"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" is the seventh album the Dave Matthews Band has released and the first album since its four-year hiatus after its 2005 release of "Stand Up."
The "GrooGrux King" of the title was the band's nickname for saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died in summer 2008 after work on the new album had begun.
When I first heard this album I was turned off immediately because of my pure love of electronica. Through a friend's obsessive listening to the album I couldn't help but notice the Dave Matthews Band was worth another listen.
What drew me into the album was the song "Lying in the Hands of God." Moore's saxophone lingers in the background, while the sophisticated pulsation of pleasant, but sad, instrumentation aids the emotional lyrics Matthews sings. It's a perfect mixture of sweet and sad that gets me every time I listen to it.
"Squirm" entices listeners to "open up your head" while an Eastern feel is given to the beat and drums are pounded on loudly.
"Time Bomb" dishes out a feeling of political freedom. The beat is soft until a "bomb" of drums, guitar, bass and Matthews' voice attack ears.
If you are used to the original Dave Matthews Band material, the song "Shake Me like a Monkey" should satisfy you. It mates a funky, foot-pounding beat with a classic Matthews' tune.
Another song with the same Matthews' upbeat tempo is "Why I Am." The song is a reference to the "GrooGrux King" and how Moore will always have a place in the band.
Matthews' lyrics are not only tantalizing but keep up with his way of paradoxing words and riddling listeners into many ways of interpreting his songs.
The album is worth a listen over and over.
Moore does not go unnoticed, as he is the main focus of the album. It's a wonderful celebration of the life Moore lived.
Once a fan of anything but Matthews, I am now completely addicted to the "GrooGrux King."
Check out the band at www.
davematthewsband.com.
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