Dave Matthews Band

In its '70s heyday southern rock was huge but hardly monolithic – under its pillars dwelt
the guitar swagger of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Dixie Dregs' jazz fusion
and Sea Level's literate funk. Then, dealt fatal blows by the passing of crucial Allmans and
Skynyrd greats, it crumbled, and the region, led by Athens, Ga., and Chapel Hill, N.C.,
turned alternative. Now, with the H.O.R.D.E. concerts and a new appetite for ma... More >

Popular groundswells do vary in discernment, as students of jogging, nail care salons, and tax limits know. Like his homeboy and forebear Bruce Hornsby, Matthews jams politely. His instrumentation invokes classical, jazz, and bluegrass niceties. And although one can understand the deep-seated impatience with agony-as-entertainment his renown reflects, he's as bland as a tofu sandwich. (Grade - C+)