Remember Two Things (Released 12/16/93)
This collection of live and studio tracks may have a regrettably dated “magic eye effect” album cover, but that didn’t stop it from tearing up the charts. Though independently released (on the band’s own Bama Rags label), it eventually went gold (and later platinum, following its 1997 re-release by RCA). With such unprecedented sales, it wasn’t long before major labels came calling and DMB was signed to RCA.
Under the Table and Dreaming (Released 9/27/94)
The album that marked DMB’s major-label debut. Though Remember Two Things had generated industry buzz, it was on the strength of Dreaming’s first single, “What Would You Say,” that the band caught their first taste of wide popular success. According to band lore, Blues Traveler front man John Popper recorded that tune’s blistering harmonica solo in just a few minutes, while Dave was on a bathroom break.
Crash (Released 4/30/96)
The band’s best-selling album to date, Crash features fan favorite “#41.” Written in response to a falling-out the band had with erstwhile friend and manager Ross Hoffman, “#41” has since become a jam staple at DMB concerts. (One live version of the song, performed in collaboration with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, lasted just over 32 minutes!)
Recently (Independently released in 1994, reissued 6/24/97)
The EP Recently is a collection of live tracks recorded at venues throughout Virginia. The original 1994 promo release features a different cover and different tracks from later pressings, making it a highly treasured addition to any die-hard Davehead’s collection.
Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 (Released 10/28/97)
Recorded in 1995 at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater—one of the band’s favorite venues— Live at Red Rocks is the band’s most successful live album to date (it reached No. 3 on the Billboard album charts, and was ultimately certified double platinum). Prior to Live at Red Rocks, live DMB tracks were only available through fan-recorded, low-quality bootlegs. Red Rocks, on the other hand, was an impressively polished affair, setting a high bar for future official live albums.
Before These Crowded Streets (Released 4/28/98)
As with DMB’s previous two studio efforts, Before These Crowded Streets was produced by Steve Lillywhite, but it would mark his last official DMB credit (see Busted Stuff for all the grisly details). The album originally included in its tracklist a song called “MacHead”—so named by Lillywhite because of its purported resemblance to an imagined Paul McCartney-Radiohead collaboration. No one outside of the band and the recording session personnel has ever heard it, a fact that continues to vex hardcore DMB fans to this day.
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Luther College (Released 1/19/99)
The only official release from Dave and frequent DMB collaborator Tim Reynolds—who have toured often as an acoustic duo—this live album was recorded at Iowa’s Luther College in ’96 and hit stores three years later. The album features many songs from Crash, which had yet to be released at the time of the concert, as well an early version of Before These Crowded Streets’ “Pantala Naga Pampa.”
Listener Supported (Released 11/23/99)
The title of this live double album is taken from the PBS slogan “supported by viewers like you”—and appropriately so, as the performance at which Listener Supported was recorded was filmed for an installment of PBS’ “In the Spotlight” concert series. DVD and VHS recordings of the program are still used as incentives for PBS fund drives.
Everyday (Released 2/27/01)
DMB’s first true “pop” album, Everyday also marked the band’s first collaboration with producer (and Alanis Morissette co-pilot) Glen Ballard. Recorded quickly after an aborted studio session with Steve Lillywhite (see Busted Stuff), the album moved DMB into more polished musical territory (as drummer Carter Beauford noted in an interview, the band arrived in the studio to find “charts and everything”—a departure from previous, more free-wheeling sessions). Though not as well received by fans as previous albums, Everyday was a huge commercial success, and featured such radio-saturating singles as “I Did It” and “The Space Between.” The title track is a reworking of the older “#36,” which can be heard in its earlier form on Live at Red Rocks and Listener Supported.
Live in Chicago (12/19/98) (Released 10/23/01)
Live In Chicago was DMB’s third officially sanctioned live album. The original concert was also broadcasted live over the Web, and its popularity prompted RCA to release it officially on cd.
Busted Stuff (Released 07/16/02)
Busted Stuff, DMB’s sixth studio LP, rose from the ashes of the failed “Lillywhite Sessions” project. In 1999, the band began recording a new album with producer Steve Lillywhite in a specially built, country-home recording studio just outside of Charlottesville. But, according to all involved, the seemingly interminable sessions didn’t produce the desired results, and the recordings were put on ice. Following that fiasco, Dave met with songwriter/producer Glen Ballard to try to rework the tracks, but they ended up writing an entirely new album (Everyday) instead, essentially scrapping the Lillywhite project. While many fans got their hands on the “Lillywhite Sessions” through Napster, the band eventually decided to rework and rerecord nine of the songs, which then became the bulk of Busted Stuff. This is the only DMB album to not feature any guest musicians.
Live at Folsom Field (Released 11/05/02)
DMB’s fourth officially sanctioned live disc, this album was recorded on July 11, 2001 at the titular field, which is used by the University of Colorado’s football team, in Boulder, Colorado.
True Reflections (Boyd Tinsley solo album, released 06/17/03)
Boyd Tinsley beat out Dave by three months in the race to be the first member of the band to have his own solo album. Even so, Dave magnanimously shows up on the final track of True Reflections to help his buddy out.
Some Devil (Dave Matthews solo album, released 09/23/03)
Dave’s first (and thus far, only) solo album features the Grammy Award-winning song “Gravedigger.” This album, noted by fans and critics to be a bit moodier than the band’s average material, features an appearance by Phish founder Trey Anastasio.
The Central Park Concert (Released 11/18/03)
On September 24, 2003, the DMB boys played their largest show to date—approximately 100,000 people gathered in New York’s Central Park. The show was a free event, but it was designed as a fundraiser for the city’s languishing public school system, as well as Charlottesville’s own Music Resource Center. This concert, like Live in Chicago, was broadcast over the Web. The band’s rollicking rendition of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” a live show staple, is an oft-noted highlight.
The Gorge (Released 06/29/04)
This live release is drawn from a three-night stand (September 6-8, 2002) near the tiny town of George, Washington (get the pun?). While the commercial release is a relatively modest double-disc-and-DVD set, true Dave fans spring for the monster six-CD set available online, which contains every single song from each of the three nights.
DMB Live Trax Vol.1 (Released 11/02/04)
This, the first in a series of five live albums, was recorded in Worchester, Massachusetts, on December 8, 1998. The Trax series is not available in stores and can only be ordered off the band’s official site. Notable guest musicians at this show included frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds and world-famous banjoist Béla Fleck.
DMB Live Trax Vol. 2 (Released 12/17/04)
The second iteration of the Trax series took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on September 24, 2004. This concert was billed as a benefit concert for local Bay Area charities, and features three previously unreleased tracks (one of which features the guitar stylings of special guest Carlos Santana).
Stand Up (Released 05/10/05)
The most recent LP by the band, Stand Up was recorded at the band’s Haunted Hollow Studio here in Charlottesville and features the hit single “American Baby.” Hopping onto the digital revolution, Stand Up was one of the first prominent albums to be released as a dualdisc—an individual disc that featured the regular CD on one side and a special-edition DVD, featuring bonus content, on the other. This marvel of technology, however, led to a minor backlash as the cd’s copyright protection caused it to be rendered unplayable on computers and certain types of CD players.
DMB Live Trax Vol. 3 (Released 03/17/05)
The third of the Live Trax series, this concert was recorded on August 27, 2000, in Hartford, Connecticut. Unlike the previous two Live Trax albums, this concert did not feature any special guests.
DMB Live Trax Vol. 4 (Released 09/02/05)
Originally recorded on April 30, 1996, in Richmond, this concert is a live recording from the release party of Crash, and showcases the band just on the cusp of reaching massive critical and commercial success. Like Live Trax Vol. 3, this show also did not feature any special guests.
Weekend on the Rocks (Released 11/29/05)
The overwhelming success of DMB’s first live album, Live at Red Rocks, led to the band releasing another live album from the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Featuring two CDs and a DVD, this collection culls the best performances from the four-day set, and features many new songs from the recently released Stand Up. For the true Dave aficionado, the entire four-day performance—filling a whopping eight CDs and one DVD—is available for purchase online.
DMB Live Trax Vol. 5 (Released 05/26/06)
This relatively recent Live Trax album was recorded all the way back in August of 1995 in Rochester, Michigan. The most significant detail about this release is the appearance of a cover of Bob Marley’s “Exodus,” a rare treat for Dave lovers.
DMB Live Trax Vol. 6 (To Be Released 09/26/06)
The newest selection in the band’s Live Trax series, this recording of a performance at Boston’s Fenway Park is due for release later this month.