DAVE MATTHEWS' OTHER 'DAY
READY FOR SWAPPING
According to E! Online, a dozen unreleased tracks originally recorded with longtime DMB producer Lillywhite have shown up on Napster—get this—without the group's permission. You mean there are tracks available on Napster that the bands haven't authorized? Scandalous!
Dave Matthews Band originally recorded the tracks with Lillywhite in their home studio in Charlottesville, VA. After Matthews deemed the sessions "somewhat laborious," the band opted to shelve the material and search for a new sound.
"I just was feeling terrible, about the process at least," Matthews told Billboard. "The music that was coming out was, I think, some of my favorite songs I've ever written. But the whole mood around it, it didn't have a lot of movement, and I wanted movement."
As a result, the band hooked up with proven pop producer Glen Ballard for what has become the "official" version of "Everyday." The difference between the two, according to E! Online: the Lillywhite sessions were more acoustic and darker while the Ballard sessions are more electric and radio-friendly.
Not to help you find the tracks on Napster or anything, but solely in the interests of journalistic accuracy, here are the songs that have shown up on Napster: "Busted Stuff," "Grey Street," "Diggin' A Ditch," "Sweet Up And Down," "JTR," "Big (One) Eyed Fish," "Grace Is Gone," "Captain," "Bartender," "Monkey Man," "Kit Kat Jam" and "Raven."
"I cannot condone the release of these unfinished recordings," Lillywhite said in a statement, in part, denying being the culprit responsible. "Although I feel these are some of the most moving pieces of music that I've ever recorded with Dave Matthews Band."
Interestingly, Matthews' label is RCA, which is owned by Bertelsmann AG, which has pacted with the file-swapper. As a result of that partnership, DMB's first single off "Everyday," "I Did It," was released to Napster before hitting radio.
Fans are elated, however, even launching a campaign to let the Lillywhite tracks see a commercial release. "These songs are what a DMB album should sound like… musically and lyrically," said one fan. "‘Everyday' sounds like an album that was thrown together in nine days."
There is no word on how the tracks made it onto Napster. No one—including RCA, Napster and the band—has offered a comment on the situation, and it is unclear whether RCA has asked Napster to block the tunes.
However, while Matthews has said he has no plans to release the unauthorized tracks, he did admit many of the songs would make it into the band's live sets.
