First off, let me say this is a fantastic album. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't crazy about their previous release, Stand Up (2005), but Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King is a wonderful return to form for the band. Everything I loved about their earlier albums - the jam style, songs with multiple parts and tempos, crazy beats and rhythms by Carter Beauford - have all returned in new and spectacular ways.
The album's been a long time in the making, beginning late 2007, the band worked on the album throughout 2008 at two studios in Seattle; they finished in 2009 in New Orleans. It's the first album to include Jeff Coffin on saxophone (who undertook LeRoi Moore's role since LeRoi's ATV accident in June 2008 and his passing on August 19, 2008). It's also the first album to include trumpeter Rashawn Ross and be produced by Rob Cavallo. The band also recorded with guitar virtuoso Tim Reynolds for the first time since Before These Crowded Streets (1998). The name of the album comes from a combination of the made-up word "GrooGrux" that Beauford used to describe the vibe and energy of the "wild-sounding rhythms" the band made up together, and a chance encounter with a drunk man in New Orleans who asked for money to buy "a big whiskey".
As mentioned before, the reason I first got into Dave Matthews Band was because of their innovation and phenomenal musicianship (I was in 9th grade and I'd never heard a contemporary band with a violin and a saxophone player - not to mention rhythms that weren't in standard time). I'd never heard music that borrowed sounds from so many different genres and mixed them together (jazz, rock, soul and country to name a few). One of the first concerts I ever went to was Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge and it was incredible (and as a result I mistakenly assumed all musicians were fantastic live and that all live performances enhanced their studio recordings with 20 minute jams). The same type of innovation and musicianship is evident on Big Whiskey. Some songs remind me of Before These Crowded Streets (like one of my favorites "Dive In) and some remind me of Under the Table and Dreaming. Others sound completely new, with bits and pieces from a variety of places, but none of it sounds recycled or generic. And unlike Stand Up, Big Whiskey makes good use of the band's unique instrumentation: the saxophone, violin and trumpet parts are wonderful to hear and an indelible part of the album. Whereas I felt like Carter Beauford was held back on Stand Up, here he gets to show off his chops (see Why I Am and Alligator Pie), reminding me why I think he's the most talented drummer in contemporary music.
As a whole, the album is a satisfying length with a tremendous amount of variety and hidden gems (a riff here, a sax solo there) - it's taken me many listens to get this far and I know there will be many more. My favorite tracks are "Dive In", "Shake Me Like a Monkey", "Seven" and "You & Me".
Fave tracks: "Dive In", "Shake Me Like a Monkey", "Seven" and "You & Me".
RIYL: Before These Crowded Streets, O.A.R., Counting Crows
I found this cool playlist on imeem of the entire album so you can listen to snippets from each song. Enjoy!
Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King
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