Let me just say this cd is incredible. I understand why some people may not like this cd. It doesnt sound like normal DMB, but just becuz t doesnt sound just like the other albums doesnt mean its not good music. Peersonally me and most of my friends think this album is amazing. You might like it the first time u listen others it might have to grow and others just dont like it. In my opinion all in all i think its great. Iwish though Boyd would have more input on this album and more violin in it but its ok he shows up and does amazing during a llive show.

I've a relatively new DMB fan, but as soon as I started listening to them, I was awestruck. Dave Matthews is one of the best modern guitar players around, right up there with John Mayer and Jack Johnson, though Dave Matthews has been around longer. Carter Beauford, the drummer, is one of the best rock drummers of all time, no doubt. Plus, while he's doing all of his insane drumming, he's singing backup!. Amazing. The bassist, Stefan Lessard, though he isn't Victor Wooten or Jaco Pastorius, he is still pretty amazing, and does very unique things with his axe. Boyd and Leroi (the violinist and saxophonist) are good at what they do as well.

This is a decent album, not great, but not bad. I think the DMB went a little overboard on the anti-Bush, anti-war statements. I mean, it's okay to have a song or two about it, but almost every song on this album is bashing our government. I'm good with voicing your opinion, but overstating it is a no-no. I think they could've done better with just having "American Baby" as their political song, and left it at that. "Old Dirt Hill" is one of the best on the album. I've heard that it might be about Dave Matthews' childhood in South Africa, but I don't know for sure. The riff in "Dreamgirl" is really cool, but the lyrics, as the DMB tends to get into, are a bit raunchy. "American Baby" is good, really good. I like the drums in it a lot. "Smooth Rider"...well, it's kind of a bad song, but I can't help liking it. "Everybody Wake Up" has one of the catchiest melodies on the album, and the instrumentation is awesome. "Louisiana Bayou" is so catchy and funky, you just can't help but sing it.

That's the rundown on the best songs off of this album. It's not bad, but not their best. If you want the BEST DMB CD out, get "Before These Crowded Streets".

For a band that I loved for so many years, this album has almost destroyed that. At no point do I want hate this album. Personally, I loved the Everyday album that seemingly everyone had issues with. I've seen DMB 12 times in concert and really love all of their studio albums besides this one.

So here is my problem: the entire album feels fragmented. From the overall concept, to individual songs, it feels like they were writing riffs in the studio that never fully developed. For example, the song "Dream Girl" has an excellent groove to it, but the first verse talks about digging a hole to China (or back from China) and then immediately goes into talking about his dream girl. Now, I love weird lyrics as much as the next person, but these lyrics just don't make sense.

"Everybody Wake Up" is one of the most horrible, obvious songs I've ever heard. This song has lyrics that a band full of eighth graders probably could have written. "There's a man with a bomb in this hand..." Yeah, I get it, you're talking about the President. Go listen to a Bright Eyes album and take some notes on how to write a protest song.

Overall, I'm just very disappointed with this album because I was actually excited to hear they were using Mark Baston to produce the record. I thought it gave them many possibilities to change their style in a good way. Instead, they ran with every half-developed idea they came up with and produced a less than stellar album.