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If you're of the opinion that the Grateful Dead comparisons that dog the Dave Matthews Band ring false, consider that with the release of
Listener Supported, Matthews has put out more live albums (four, if you count
Live at Luther College, a duet album with Tim Reynolds) than studio efforts (three, if you don't count the
Recently EP). That's a lot of live albums, but Matthews fans probably wouldn't have it any other way. Now it's more possible than ever to haggle over which version of, say, "Warehouse"--which appears on
Live at Red Rocks,
Luther College, and the new album, as well as on
Recently and
Under the Table and Dreaming--is definitive. But "Warehouse" aside, the Matthews Band isn't making the same album over and over.
Listener Supported contains a nice mix of tunes, albeit with a fair emphasis on their most recent studio effort,
Before These Crowded Streets. Among the highlights is a funky, freewheeling take on "Rapunzel", and gorgeous readings of "#41", and the traditional country tune "Long Black Veil". With over two and a half hours of music, the album is enough to sate most DMB fans, at least until the next live album turns up.
--Daniel Durchholz
