Under the Table and Dreaming

Dave Matthews Band

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 1994)
• Original Release Date: September 27, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WQS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (282 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #863 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
With popcorn acoustic guitars, trampoline fiddles, bumper-car bass lines, and caramel-coated sax, the Dave Matthews Band's major-label debut is like an evening at the fair. "The Best of What's Around" and "What Would You Say" swirl like the amusement-park ride on the album's cover, sweeping the exhilarated and lightheaded listener higher as the ride spins faster. "Satellite" glides breezily like the prettiest horse on the carousel, "Ants Marching" runs around hitting the bell with the sledgehammer and winning the largest stuffed animals at the target-range booths, and "Lover Lay Down" is the quietest moment on the disc--like the sun setting on a baby's sleeping, snow-cone-stained face collapsed on her daddy's shoulder. --Beth Massa

Amazon.com
Vibrant, broadly accessible adult rock that features soaraway, acoustic-based melodies, intriguing fusion overtones (check the sax/violin interplay on "Dancing Nancies" and "Warehouse") and a vocalist as cool and poised as Sting. Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, romantic, driving, inspiring.. What music SHOULD be, October 23, 2000

By	Patrick G. Varine "Dubwiser Extraordinaire" (Georgetown, Delaware) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

IF YOU'RE A BIG DMB FAN, THIS REVIEW IS A WASTE, 'CAUSE YOU ALREADY KNOW ALL THIS STUFF. IF YOU'RE NOT... READ ON!

I was introduced to the Dave Matthews Band by way of "Before These Crowded Streets," rather than going in the proper order. But when I finally did get around to buying "Under the Table and Dreaming," I was already perfectly confident that it would be just as fantastic as the rest of the DMB material I had heard/purchased up to that point.

I was right.

This was the second CD they released and the first studio CD (if you don't count the studio takes of "Seek Up" and "Minarets" on the "Remember Two Things" CD), and you can hear the limitations in their sound quality and a little less ambience than on "Crash" and "BTCS." They were just starting out with Steve Lilywhite and had not found their signature sound just yet, though you can hear it developing more and more throughout the disc.

Of course, everyone on Earth knows "Satellite" and probably "Ants Marching." They've been overplayed to death and stil I enjoy them when I hear them. That is one of the things that separates DMB from the rest of the crowd, to me anyway. I can listen to them over and over and not get tired of them. But back to the album.

Like I said, everyone is probably familiar with those two by now, but if you're not a Dave fan already, you probably have never heard the intricacy of ballads like "Pay For What You Get" and the beautiful "#34." You also may not be familiar with the rocking "Dancing Nancies" (which asks the question, "Could I have been anyone other than me?") and the poetically-inspired "Typical Situation."

I can't say that this is "early" Dave Matthews, because the order in which all the band's songs were written belies the order in which they appear on albums. But I can say with confidence that this is GREAT Dave Matthews... but then... what ISN'T?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless, March 2, 2004

By	Thomas Palmer "tomsporty" (Mahwah, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is as close to a perfect CD as you will find. The songs complement eachother so completely that the songs seem to almost blend into one melodious song with different acts. For me there is no best song on the album because none is capable of standing out from the rest. Instead, DMB brings you into their better world for an hour at a time, and we emerge somehow more ready to face the world having heard the beauty that the world is capable of.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dave and Co. hit a home run first time up, June 7, 2000

By	Timothy R. Sullivan - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Awesome CD. When I discovered these guys, I was immediately drawn to their unique sound. I love the combination of rock, jazz, soul, funk, SKA, alternative. This band definitely has its own sound.

I loved every song on the album except "Rhyme and Reason," which I thought was not very well done. However, all the other ones are excellent, especially, "Best of What's Around," "Jimi Thing," "Satellite," "Warehouse," and "What would you say."

Just a phenomenal effort.

I'm a little worried about the future of DMB, however. I liked "Crash," but not nearly as much as "Under the Table," and I found "Before These Crowded Streets," to be a disappointment.

Of course it's tough to top this blockbuster. "Under the Table and Dreaming" is an incredible album.