"Everyday" Is Just That

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I enjoy the music on most of Everyday's tracks, but the lyrics leave me starving to put in something like The Unforgettable Fire or anything. Christina Aguliera tackles deeper subjects than Dave did in "Angel." Here's the line from "Angel" that sums up the lyrical quality on this disc for me:

"Why do I beg like a child for your candy?"

These lyrics are a sad shift from previous albums. I'm not suggesting that the band goes to misery and makes sad, depressing music, but you can make up music that has a sad tinge to it. Hope and plasticized happiness are two radically different things.

And based on the recent Rolling Stone article, I don't think that the Lillywhite Sessions will ever be released. Bruce Flohr, RCA's A&R representative that works with the band, thought the material was lacking upbeat numbers (see Rolling Stone #864, p. 51) and that he "wasn't feeling [the album] as a fan."

Now that I've completely lambasted the disc, I feel I need to find the redemption in this release:

Everyday has good music on it. The songs are catchy, and "Everyday," "Mother Father," "The Space Between," and the orchestral washes of "What You Are" are all bright points. "I Did It" is a good song - it reminds me of the comedy of "What Would You Say?" and, because "I Did It" is in jest, I can go around singing it without feeling stupid. These pieces show a band experimenting, or at least a producer experimenting. If this disc had evolved through jamming with each band member bringing in influences on their own (as U2 did with Achtung Baby) this album could have been completely different. It would have been an album by the "Dave Matthews Band."

I'm also convinced that the live renditions of these songs will probably be great, and that over the course of the tour, they will grow and develop into better songs. And I also think that I will probably succumb to pop music and shout out the lyrics I know to be trite and silly because they are simply so catchy that I am compelled to do so.

About 40 percent of this album is what I would expect from a group of artists as talented as DMB. Most of the songs are just not up to par with what they are capable of producing. It doesn't have the sound of something that evolved. It's a wine that has not sat on the rack long enough. The songs might have grow better with age and development, but the disc is a snapshot. It is static. The band went for a quick fix instead of letting a process like U2's Achtung Baby happen. There is so much potential in these pieces, but the album simply falls short. I listen and look for something that makes me go "yeah!" with this disc, something that makes me want to run out in the street and grab the first person I meet and tell them how this album is the greatest thing I have ever heard. But, so far, I still haven't found what I'm looking for.