Released: 1994
Tracks: The Best of What’s Around; What Would You Say; Satellite; Rhyme & Reason; Typical Situation; Dancing Nancies; Ants Marching; Lover Lay Down; Jimi Thing; Warehouse; Pay For What You Get; #34
Best track: Ants Marching
Tracks to skip: Dancing Nancies, Lover Lay Down, Warehouse, Pay For What You Get, #34
I still think it’s pretty cool that a ‘rock’ band has the instrumentation of bass-guitar-drums-sax-violin. Thanks to DMB it’s more of a common thing now, but it still increases the possibilities that can happen. Even still listening to this album the same thing comes out: DMB are not consistent in my ears. When they’re good, they are DAMN good, but when they’re just filling out an album…wow it gets boring. I guess it’s just my prejudice of wanting a band to be excellent nearly all the time (like King Crimson, Phish or Mike Keneally). I want to say how great DMB are, shout it from the hills, but they’re only halfway great.
The great stuff: the first 3 tracks + Ants Marching are so damn good. In all areas, they are exceptional pieces of music. And mostly the album is good, but after Jimi Thing it just drops into some sort of boring ass muck. I know I’m being a bit hard, and they are talented musicians, but the last 4 songs honestly bore me…and I HATE it when music bores me. What makes it worse is when it’s on the same album as something like Satellite or Best of What’s Around. 2 ends of the spectrum. And Dancing Nancies is past boring; it’s just a bad song.
I guess it boils down to this, DMB has some excellent material and very good musicianship, but the songwriting is effective only half the time. I think if DMB just made EP’s they’d probably be one of the best bands out there. Otherwise, well, they’re just OK. And I hate saying a group is ‘OK’ when they make something as excellent as Ants Marching. That’s a great, great song. I just wish they could all be that good.
Rating: 84
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