 Dave Matthews Band is planning for the release of their first Greatest Hits record. This will be the first compilation album for the band and it appears they plan to mix past studio recordings with previously unreleased live material. A couple of things make this event worth noting.
Fans are being polled as to what songs they would like to see on the Album. Over ninety songs are listed on the official DMB web site. The page says "Feel free to include a show date next to the song choice if you have a favorite from a live show." Some fans have questioned whether a consensus could possibly be built around a specific song and show date.
DMB has a bewildering number of songs many performed hundreds of times. THis makes it difficult for all but the most dedicated fans to make an educated decision over which single performance of a song is the best.
The list of songs the fans are allowed to choose from is a strange mix. In general the entire catalogue of songs that have been released by DMB on recorded albums is available for voting, with some strange variations.
Sweet Up And Down from the Lillywhite Sessions is listed. As and example, SUAD hasn't been performed by DMB since July of 2000. If this song was pulled for a Greatest Hits album it would have to come from only a handful of DMB performances or be re-recorded in the studio.
Sugar Will from Summer 2004 is not listed while Crazy Easy is. Angel From Montgomery is not listed, but Blue Water Baboon Farm is. Gravedigger and Little Thing (aka An' Another Thing) from Dave Matthews' solo album Some Devil can be chosen, but the rest of songs from Some Devil are unavailable.
The other strange item about this announcement is the text that accompanies the survey on the main page:
"Dave Matthews Band will be releasing a Greatest Hits record
in the near future in order to fulfill an obligation to their label, RCA Records.
In order to shape the Greatest Hits combination of studio/live songs into the best possible
release, DMB would like to gather feedback from its dedicated fan base.
Let us know what songs you would like to have featured on DMB’s Greatest Hits!"
The key phrase here is "in order to fulfill an obligation to their label, RCA Records." Most likely there are a good number of obligations DMB has had to RCA in the past, from recording a minimum amount to promoting an album in the media or just by playing singles at shows. These have never been publicly noted as "obligations" but are simply unstated commitments.
Indeed, RCA likely has its own obligations to the band, such as flexing its distribution channels, marketing DMB's albums and helping ensure airplay for the band on north american radio stations. Despite all of this, RCA has never been in a position where they had to explain that the reason they're doing something for DMB is because of an obligation.
The decision to include this phrase on the web page and also the Warehouse email sent out announcing the news could mean a few different things.
The band could be at odds with its label. This would seem to fit with the late decision to axe the previously announced follow-up to the band's non-starter album with Mark Batson, Stand Up. In early April of this year, Dave had strong words about the recording for Rolling Stone magazine's Smoking Section (RS 998):
"We're just playin', hanging out. We're not deadlining anything. The fact that anything's being recorded is just beside the point. We're just sitting in a room, making noises - then we'll see what fuckin' happens."
This was backpedling from repeated statements from the band that another album was on the way in early 2006, but this tone is a especially out of character for Dave who normally would simply be trying to communicate that the album will come out later.
Friction between DMB and RCA seems to fall in line with predictions from April of this year. Read the full article
 Stefan Lessard Journal Reveals Batson Studio Recording Strategy Revamped
The recent verbiage about DMB's commitment to RCA could also be posturing after watching their fan club be sold to the brainchild of Clear Channel Entertainment.(1) Many fans have seen this as an erosion of the band's credibility.
It appears that DMB faces a mandatory album release from the label but they are simply not ready to release a full album, despite favorable response from road-testing of Idea of You, Break Free and Shotgun. DMB or its marketing arm may view the release of a Greatest Hits album as untimely and the lack of recording road-tested songs as weak. Greatest hits albums are sometimes viewed negatively as simple money makers. (2)
DMB's statement against their label coupled with a fan-friendly request for input not only deflects attention from the poorly timed mid-tour announcement of MusicToday getting sold, but also from the real concern at hand:DMB needs to record a great studio album that meets the expectations of the established fan base while also generating great record sales.
Stand Up attempted to do this but ultimately failed on both counts and is now casted as "shallow" by Dave himself. Everyday had huge sales but fell flat with old fans due to total lack of road testing and Dave's decision to exclude the other band members during the songwriting.
No matter why the band is whining about label commitments there is a chief difference between a Greatest Hits album and a Best Of album. According to wikipedia, Greatest Hits are "typically produced after an artist has had enough successful songs to fill out an album release."
While DMB certainly can carry an album like this on singles alone, they have suggested they would include fan favorites. This fits the description of a Best Of album, in "which some or all songs needn't be hits, and can simply be songs from past albums liked by fans and music critics." Certainly Blue Water and Sweet Up and Down could not be considered hits so their potential inclusion lands this compilation solidly in the Best Of category.
Another glimmer of hope shines from the fact that it is commonplace for bands to include one or two new or previously unreleased tracks on compilation records. If enough consensus can not be made around the voting, perhaps DMB will preview a sample of their production direction for the next studio album. If a new studio track is included, the interesting point will be whether Mark Batson is listed in the liner notes.
(General Feedback About DMB Greatest Hits)
(Negative Feedback About DMB Greatest Hits)
1 Technically the sale of MusicToday does not mean the Warehouse has been sold to Live Nation (Clear Channel Entertainment spin off). DMB owns its fan club, and has MusicToday handle services related to administering the club. Theoretically, the band could drop its contract with MusicToday and choose a new independent company to handle the club.
This is very unlikely to happen, however because MusicToday exists today because it was creating services specifically in response to the needs of Dave Matthews Band. Support for all other bands grew out of these efforts. Thus DMB and MusicToday are so intertwined they are basically inseparable.
2 In 2005 Greatest Hits albums were harped on for being released pre-mature of any length of serious artistry, as illustrated by Hilary Duff, N Sync and Mandy Moore, who had only a few singles in their careers. See: Greatest-hits albums, now minus the hits |
