Big Sound, Big Changes - DMB's Big Whiskey

Dave Matthews Band has returned with an all new album and an all new sound, after a four year hiatus of sorts.  There newest album  "Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King" has departed from earlier works by the DMB.

The Dave Matthews Band has been known for years as a band with a more rocking sound then their jam-band contemporaries such as Phish or Moe, but on this album the depart and take a journey towards places they haven't visited in the past. Breaking away from their early, more main stream sound, the band uses this album to expand on their more mature approach toward music and its influences while lamenting their departed friend and founding band member, LeRoi Moore.

In 2008 Moore died from complications caused by an ATV accident.  Jeff Coffin, has since taken that role of saxophonist, in the studio.  Many believe that the band came back together to make a tribute album, of sorts, to Moore.  This is seen throughout many tracks on the album.

Many of the songs on this new album, especially the first release, "Funny the Way It Is", reflect the loss of Moore and the way the band dealt with his passing. "Funny the Way It Is" is most likely the track that most resembles the old Dave Matthews band sound while encompassing their new direction. Other songs on the album, such as "Alligator Pie" and "Baby Blue" show the influence on the band from their time apart, working with other people such as former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty, and their experience recording in Louisiana with producer Rob Cavallo.

With a Delta Blues sound, along with New Orleans French Quarter influences this album show the bands ability to play, despite the loss of Moore.

Despite the new directions, fans will still get the same feeling from each new track.  As with the previous albums, fans will surely be able to find the heart of their sound and will put "Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King" on the same high praise as "Under the Table and Dreaming" and "Crash".