Dave Matthews Band Returns To a World of Its Own

You really want to give Dave Matthews a big hug and tell him the weighty burdens of the world he knows will, in fact, work themselves out in the end. Until someone gives him a strong enough hint we can all lick our chops at the latest tantalizing collection from The Dave Matthews Band. "Away From The World" finds the boys just as jam groove oriented as they ever were, showing off how they are one of the few outfits that has demonstrated legitimacy as an honest to goodness "jam band", the kind where the musicians toss in their own ingredients to make a toothsome stew. "Mercy" is a showcase for the quadrant of Dave's psyche that hopes the man made damage of the planet we are supposed to be stewards can be reversed before it's too late. "Broken Things" reaches for Dave's vulnerable epicenter, the one I suggest is in biggest need of a hug. "Drunken Soldier" is militant, undeterred by the obstacles felling lesser men. The theme, just be yourself, isn't new, but the authoritative percussive imprint the band leaves on it succeeds in reinforcing the importance of not letting anyone, friend or foe, tell you what the best way to live your life is. Boyd Tinsley, as usual, works his violin with gustatory seasoning. Carter Beauford's drumming still guides Dave's at times melancholy verses with the reassurance a captain is given by the first mate on a ship where one wrong turn spells disaster for all involved. "Away From The World" takes its place as excellent addition to the music world not to mention a noteworthy link in the chain which comprises the Virginia rock mainstay's body of work.