Dave Matthews Band

As a DJ in the mid-'90s, I got burned out on Dave Matthews. All his tunes sounded the same, and the songs were getting increasingly goofy, culminating with that lousy, sophomoric "I Did It" single. Then I saw the guy in concert and got some new respect for him as a performer. The latest album is unquestionably his best, a moody, brooding piece of work packed with songs that matter—instead of his usual stunt crap. "Where Are You Going?" marks the band’s best single to date, and "Bartender," a song of epic proportions in concert, makes a mighty transition to the studio. Featuring many rerecorded tracks from the aborted sessions with producer Steve Lillywhite, this album shows Matthews maturing as a songwriter and apparently going through a world of pain. I’ll be more forgiving of his goofy stuff in the future.