Customer Reviews

Recently

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Despite being only 5 songs long, the Recently EP should be considered a must buy for dave fans. the acoustic versions of Dancing Nancies and Warehouse give the listener a taste of his Luther College performance with Tim (Daves best cd). All Along the Watchtower has become a favorite at live concerts as a finale or encore. Holloween shows the dynamic contrast of daves songs, providing a harsh edge that proves completely different from the mellow tones and chords of the title track. While the first song remains slightly short for my liking, it still gives the listener a taste of the new directions dave has taken towards his later albums. Overall, Recently has proven to be a great transition EP album and is a great gift for friends without spending the money of an expensive two cd set. The 5 song sample gives the full gamut of Dave's amazing voice and sound. I reccommend Recently for any dave listener, but especially the true fans who really appreciate his originality and outstanding capabilities as a musician and performer.

Steve Fenster

This little EP is a gem! All five tracks are great, several of them truly oustanding. The entire album is recorded live, but the band sounds much tighter than they did on their previous effort, Remember Two Things. I remember purchasing this at my first DMB concert and being truly floored by the violent power and intensity of "Halloween"... this song will scare you. And you will love it! Equally rocking is their cover of Dylan's classic tune "All Along The Watchtower." Dave's growls will send you looking for a mosh pit, and Leroi's first breathy then shrieking tenor sax solo seems too good to be improvised. These heavy hitters are perfectly complimented by beautiful acoustic renditions of Nancies and Warehouse, two of the band's greatest songs (featuring Dave on vocals and rhythm guitar and Tim Reynolds playing leads). First but not least is "Recently", which is the same version as the Remember Two Things track but about three minutes shorter. Though jamming is one of the things Dave Matthews Band does best, this song works better as a bouncy 4 minute ditty rather than an awkward jam that doesn't lead very far into the realms of emotion. This album is a must have for any Dave Matthews fan, casual or obsessive.

This Cd is definetely worth the price. The version of Recently is very good, I think better than the Remember 2 Things one, but not as good as Red Rocks. Dancing Nancies is subdued, but still powerful. Perhaps the weak point on the album is Warehouse. This song is one of my DMB favorites, but here it lacks the intensity that is so key to its success. The version of Watchtower is the best that I have heard to date. Finally, Hallloween is twice as good as it is on Before these Crowded Streets. Carter's drumming is right on, and Dave's vocals are simply amazing. Overall, the only real problem with this is that it has too few songs.

I have all seven DMB albums, and although this is the shortest, it also contains the best versions. The version of Recently, although shorter than the one on r2t, really captures the attention of the listener. Ths live/nightclub (Trax) makes it even better. The version of Dancing Nancies is good, although the ones on Red Rocks and Luther College are better(its a great live song) Halloween is amazing. The pure emotion makes it the best version of this song released by the band. The version of Warehouse is good, but then there is All Along the Watchtower. The Dylan and the Hrendrix versions were good, as is the one on Red Rocks, but this is by far the best version of what may be the best song ever written. Great album

For casual and diehard fans alike, a five-song EP is a bit too skimpy, especially considering that this is DMB in concert. I have the shows that this EP was sampled from, and they are fabulous. Get them in their entirety if you can.

The two Dave and Tim songs are from 2/21/94, one of Dave and Tim's best shows together. It is one of those rare soundboards that actually has atmosphere, and Warehouse and Dancing Nancies are both fabulous. At that same show (the rest of which remains unreleased), Tim rips out an electrifying solo on Recently (even though his guitar is obviously acoustic) which causes the audience to literally freak out during the middle of the song. Most memorable of all is during the set break when Tim guests on T-Bone Burnett's Humans From Earth. During this song, Tim rips sounds unheard of in your everyday world of acoustic guitar, at one point, even attacking the strings with his teeth (and for guitarists, forgetting to detune his E-string until the middle of the song).You must hear it to believe it, so go out and find this show. If this show is released in its entirety someday, it would be extraordinarily satisfying, surpassing even Live at Luther College.

Halloween and Watchtower are good for this period of DMB. Dave screams and shouts his way through the two, oblivious that that kind of screaming can cause permanent damage to your vocal chords. Perhaps that's why Halloween is only played on rare occaisons.

But in the end, this EP is mainly for historical reasons. For casual fans, Live at Chicago and Live at Red Rocks will suit you better. For dedicated fans who trade DMB shows, it's unnecessary. But if you want to hear an era of DMB that will likely not be heard from again on official release this is prime evidence.

Though almost every track on this CD is good (the exception being "Halloween", which remained weak even on "Before These Crowded Streets"), it's really Dave's cover of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" that is the most impressive aspect of this live acoustic recording. It's amazing how so many others have improved on Dylan's song, this being not just the most RECENT (!), but also the best I've heard so far. I also agree with other reviewers who mention that other DMB versions are better than those appearing here (e.g. "Dancing Nancies", "Warehouse"), but these versions are still great, especially if you prefer a more stripped-down sound.

There are two reasons to get this CD:

All Along The Watchtower
Halloween

I remember getting this CD about 10 years ago when you had to order it from the "Remember 2 Things" catalog, and then letting all my friends hear Dave's incredible version of "Watchtower." This Dylan cover is probably the best cover Dave's known for and is worth the $10 alone. Add to that a better sounding version of Halloween than they officially released, and it makes for an excellent CD.

Recently, Dancing Nancies, and Warehouse sound decent, but the later released versions on DMB's other CDs all are of equal merit or surpass them.

This is a GOOD cd but for 5 songs 10 bucks is too much,maybe 5 bucks, nut anyway most of the songs are good except recently (you can find a better version on remember 2 things) and warehouse its just dumb but watchtower is amazing and halloween is the best get this if your a fan or want a little taste of matthews

It's easy to think of a band's early work as their strongest and their early albums as their defining moment, but Recently shines for less sentimental reasons, most importantly the title track, Dancing Nancies and All Along the Watchtower. Throw in Warehouse and Halloween and you have the ideal Matthews sampler. The playing is superb, more emotional than on later live recordings and far less concerned with being artsy. In the end, the disc is worth the cost for Recently alone. Love that song, especially this version.

The sound quality on Recently is unmatched and often I'd forget that the performance was live. DMB always performs well live but this was even excellent by their own gaudy standards. The songs on the CD are really good two, especially Warehouse, and it was nice the hear All Along the Watchtower (it's not Jimi Hendrix but not too far off either). For any avid DMB fan this is a must buy!!