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44 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent sophomore album, March 3, 2000
Being one of the biggest Daveheads out there, I have scores of concert bootlegs, and so in order to properly review "Crash," I had to go back and listen to the actual album so I could remember what the studio recordings sounded like. There's always sort of an artificial feel to DMB's studio recordings, mainly because they don't expand into eight and 12-minute jam sessions. They are simply the jam sessions reduced to an album-length format. Because almost all of the songs on "Crash" had been performed by DMB numerous times by the time they got onto and album. But all that aside, it's an excellent record. "Crash" catches a lot of flak and criticism for being a departure from the original highly organic sound of "Under the Table and Dreaming." But it's not as if this is an entirely different band. This was much more of an electric album. Tim Reynolds' mind-blowing guest guitar work here is mainly done with electics rather than acoustics, and so the sound is a little edgier than Dave's fans were used to. I still have to commend Steve Lilywhite (their producer) for his fantastic audio work in polishing DMB's material. But back to the album. There are very few songs on here that are not really really good. The concept behind "Crash" (the song, not the album) is really funny in that most people think it's a love song... but listen to it closely... it's not. "So Much to Say" is one of the most fun songs I've ever heard. The main songs that I have problems with are "Cry Freedom" and "Proudest Monkey." "Cry Freedom" is really not that great of a song, even though its message is, and "Proudest Monkey," while the jam session for it is really cool, is probably too long to be on a studio album (the song clocks in at about 9:08). The main problem is that the instrumentation on the jam is too sparse, unlike future sessions on "Before These Crowded Streets." But the best songs on the album have to be "Two Step" and "Lie In Our Graves." "Two Step," despite not having a traditional rock rhythm until the chorus, is one of the most rocking songs I have ever heard, and "Lie In Our Graves..." well... I don't know. It just has something about it that makes it so cool. I can't really explain it. I'm a big fan of rhythm, and DMB definitely has rhythm aplenty. Carter Beauford is the God of all drummers and Stefan Lessard is probably the best bassist I've ever heard. "Crash" is a very good album. Not the best DMB has released, but very good nonetheless.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Talent: Look No Further, September 6, 2000
By A Customer
This band is acoustic, but has the most amazing combination of vocals, drums, violins, saxophones, whistles, flutes, bass, and electric bass. Dave may not be your most talented singer in the world, but what he says is so awesome. I'll start at the beginning of the CD. "So Much To Say" is a song that is way too true for me. He's talking about his hell and is ever so wise with, "Sometimes I find it's easy to be myself, Sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else," and God, how true... The only bad part is Dave is bursting with inspiring words, but ends up repeating "So much to say" too much. Then there is "Two Step" with an amazing into... and the awesome metaphor of "Hey, my love, you came to me like wine comes to this mouth, grown tired of water all the time, you quench my heart and you quench my mind," "Crash into me" is your radio played song w/ a cool video... "Who's got their claws in you my friend?" Good question... Dave will always give you something to think about Awesome sounds... "Too Much," has an awesome baritone sax part. It shows off Leroi's talent. Dave sings in an neat way. "#41" is a slow, pensive song, and he is very soft sounding, but deep things are said. "Say Goodbye," is about a girl friend no doubt, and it's kind of sad. Probably my least fav. song, but I have none. "Drive in Drive Out," has some great lines that are humorous poetry... namely, "I hear more than I'd like to, so I boil my head in a sense of humor, I laugh at what I cannot change, I throw it out on the pyre again, go then and do this, I'd do it of for you, when all that I want is so badly to be, by myself again, this is going to drive me right out of my brain..." Awesome... "Let You Down" is mellow, and him apologizing. Another great metaphor enclosed. You'll see. "Lie in our graves" he asks, would we lie in our graves and dream of the things we might have been, and it teaches you to enjoy life. "Cry Freedom" is too true about this country. It has great thoughts, "Hand and feet are all alike, but gold between divide us." Great instrumental. "Tripping Billies" is jazzish. Awesome... "Proudest Monkey" is ten minutes, but worth every second, great metaphor about being too proud to admit when you're wrong. The band creates great sounds of the city.This CD contains NO bad songs. Carter Beaufort is an astounding drummer. The lyrics are fascinating to dissect and memorize. The amazingly talented violin by Boyd Tinsley changes violin's name forever. Stefan Lessard is amazing, but you have to listen hard to hear it, but his parts are great. Great band, great songs, great sounds... Enjoy the best CD ever.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reflective, beautiful, and a rare grace in music today., July 22, 1999
By A Customer
Crash is the refreshing breather amidst mass pop/rock confusion in America. The Dave Matthews Band has combined introspection, diversity, reflection, and skill to create one of the finest records available. As the band's second major release, Crash is, if nothing else, a testament to musical exploration. The album swings from the twangy and up-beat "So Much To Say" opening to the slow, pondering unwind of the closing "Proudest Monkey," with lots of groove-rock, funk, jazz, and intensity thrown in between. The record features studio-recorded compilations of some songs fans have heard before ("Two Step," "Drive In Drive Out," "Tripping Billies," "Proudest Monkey"), as well as a breath-taking array of newly inspired lyrics and harmony. The end result is a wonderfully inviting album that is an addictive alternative to the unsure pop/rock artists of our day, and Dave Matthews Band fans are only too happy to see it. It's easy to see why "Crash Into Me" was the massive success that it was, topping billboard charts across the country for the better part of six months; but less noticed are tracks like "#41," subtle, delicate, and pristine. Much to the band's credit, these are the tracks that support the backbone of much of the album. Crash is unlike a great many albums today in that it features something for just about everyone. Intricate acoustics dominate much of the opening track before moving into a tasteful recording of the concert-favorite "Two Step," which demonstrates moving percussion that manages to maintain a feel-good mood that compliments the theme of the song. "Crash Into Me," upon being listened to for the hundredth time, transforms from an over-played radio hit to a sweet testimony to love that could, at a gentle push, make a lover cry. In "Too Much," the band proves that they still can cut loose every once in a while into a free-form, all-out funk fest. The rest of the album is left to the quiet and often bone-chilling force of lyrical and musical precision and perfection. A total of twelve tracks grace the overall theme of this album, which has remained a steady, romantic, and optimistically challenging appreciation for life. Crash is a definite plus for any music lover's collection, a must for Dave Matthews Band lovers, and for some, perhaps even many words to live by. But beyond its music, maybe Crash's best feature is the authenticity and care with which it was created. Realizing that the second release is perhaps the most essential for any group of musicians, the Dave Matthews Band has established with this album a firm hold on the concept and beauty of music.
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