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CD of the week: Big Whiskey and the GooGrux King
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July 1, 2009
By Zane Henry
Dave Matthews Band
Big Whiskey and the GooGrux King
****
World's premier jam-band pays tribute to fallen brother by righteously rawking.
After a few years spent in the wilderness with ambivalently received albums, DMB hit back with Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, a sprawling, compelling disc that harnesses the energy of their live performances while showing off some of Dave Matthews's best songwriting skills.
In a eulogy that might be lost on inattentive listeners, the album explodes with energy and life. The passing of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, the titular GooGrux King, has inspired the band to celebrate his life through joyous music.
The recording sessions were wrapped up in New Orleans and that city's voodoo energy hangs over the songs.
First single Funny the Way It Is is a poppy gem strengthened with a muscular riff in the bridge. Why I Am is an exuberant jamboree that sees Matthews singing that "Heaven or Hell/ I'm going down with the GrooGrux King".
There's also space for tender love songs such as Lying in the Hands of God and the cute You and Me.
The departure of Moore seems to have galvanised the band and thrown things into sharp perspective.
This album zings with the strangeness of joy coming from pain, miracles from tragedy and music from silence.
Play on. -
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