i have never been a huge dave matthews band fan. i loved dave’s solo album some devil and his early collaborative effort with tim reynolds live at luther college, but i’ve never run out and bought up all of their studio releases but from time to time i have picked up a live album.
as dmb has matured so has their live show. always notoriously long, piedmont park doesn’t stray from that distinction at all. in essence, the album is a three hour jam session with songs sprinkled in. and while the jams do get a little long at times the songs are superb.
the first disc of the three disc set contains most of matthews earlier works, but includes one new track cornbread, a jam that really doesn’t stray from dmb’s signature sounds much. the final track on disc one is an unexpected surprise, the allman brothers song melissa featuring greg allman alternating vocals with dave. the second disc features a handful of brand new songs including the awesome sounds of the dreaming tree. the third disc is a two track encore featuring all along the watchtower and ants marching.
in all piedmont park is an album with amazing versions of excellent songs and while the jams and breaks between songs get long and winded the album as a whole is great. perfect for a long road trip. check it out
