The Lillywhite Sessions

AMG Review of The Lillywhite Sessions

JT Griffith
All Music Guide

Much has been written about the long, arduous process that the Dave Matthews Band went through to release their multi-platinum album Everyday. During the summer of 2000, the band recorded with producer Steve Lillywhite, who worked with the band on all of their previous studio efforts. Dave Matthews explained that his record company and management were disappointed with the resulting songs and recordings. It seems that they, and the band, felt that while the material was good, it was excessively dark. The songs were shelved, the band took a break, and Matthews connected with producer Glen Ballard. Matthews and Ballad started co-writing songs, something completely new in the history of the band. These songs so inspired Matthews (and brought him out of a depressing funk) that the original tracks were officially set aside while the new songs were finished and released as Everyday. Shortly after the release of the band's fifth studio album, 12 songs were leaked to a fan by an unauthorized source and that fan posted the songs on the Internet. It is a bit of a misnomer to call the resultant Lillywhite Sessions a "lost" album. They are a rough version of an album universally adored by fans and highly praised by critics, and whose existence provides an incredible (and violating) window into one of the most popular bands in America. The "record" as it stands is bleak and hopeless with motifs of fate, martyrdom, and abuse that all lack happy endings. The fidelity of the music is low, the songwriting is often not completed and includes some rambling, and overall it is missing the spark that could elevate the material beyond previous albums. Still, the Lillywhite Sessions represent the core of a brilliant, dark masterpiece. Fans who felt Everyday was too constrained and canned will love the liberated feel of these sessions.