Dave Matthews Band Album: “Listener Supported”

Once again Dave Matthews and his band have reinvented themselves, and their sound. This new album, while containing almost all old material that has been previously released, has a completely fresh sound. I attended a concert during the same tour, and bringing in Butch Taylor on keyboard was a great decision. The band has a full and rich sound on this album, and it sounds completely different than their other live offerings. I would highly recommend it to all DMB fans, and especially to those who don't have the appreciation for the band yet.

I'm not sure what to think about Listener Supported. I've got all of the studio albums, plus many bootlegs, including those off of this year's tour. These cd's have amazing sound quality, but some of the performance is watered down, and I believe there have been other concerts from this year that would have made a better live release. Because this concert was taped for a truncated PBS telecast, it inevitably was slotted for a live release. I have seen DMB live many times, and this show doesn't rate at all near the top of the band's capablities. There are some very weak songs, ie #36 and True Reflections, that completely lack the characteristic DMB energy. The gospel singers from Stay appear in much of the concert, and their style generally conflicts with the band, except for Stay, and possibly Long Black Veil. There are highlights, all of the jams (Intro-->Pantala Naga Pampa-->, Jimi Thing, Two Step! , a great #41) and The Stone. This cd is great for unexperienced or curious listeners to catch some of the flavour of this year's tour, but for listeners more knowledgable of the band's repretoire, Listener Supported may leave you with a slightly bitter taste.

I have every CD that the band has put out and this is a very impressive recording. They were without gituarist Tim Reynolds for this one but they still managed to put out a gread sound. My favorite tracks are #41, True Reflections and The Stone. This wasnt as good as live at Red Rocks but it still gets 5 stars in my book. A must have for any Matthews fan.

When I got this disc I was familiar with the music from the PBS special, so I knew that it was going to be good, but the stuff that was not on the special blew me away! Granted I could have done without the 'lovely ladies' on #36 but over all this is a must have for any DMB fan. I have a ton of bootlegs and all of the other releases, but this is the one that is in my cd player now. The mixture of the old tunes and the new ones is just perfect. Boyd taking the vocals on 'True Reflections' just shows the future potential of the band...if you are in doubt at all, just trust me on this one, it is worth the money! Besides, who can't get enough of 'Warehouse'?

I've been a huge Dave fan since "Under the Table...", and while I might be just a little prejudiced here, I definitely loved this CD. It's two hours and twenty minutes of sheer musical bliss, and, even better, it's live. There are tons of standout songs like the first's CD's "Warehouse" and the amazing jam session that evolves from "#41" (my favorite Dave song ever). Even those of you who aren't fans of live music will be impressed with how closely the guys stick to the album versions on some of the more popular songs (ie. "Too Much", "Jimi Thing", "Crash Into Me"). Also really special is the fact that Dave's between-song comments and the roaring crowd are included, which helps you to really get into the "live" experience. But my favorite feature is that there are some really rare tracks on here, such as "Granny" and "Long Black Veil" (on the second CD), that are definitely worth a listen. In conclusion, this is the best live CD I've heard in a long time. Give it a listen! If you're a Dave Matthews fan, it will only reinforce his and the band's sheer brilliance for you, and if you're not, who knows? It may just convert you. I, the listener, completely support it!