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Some Devil
10/07/2003 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Ken Micallef
If Dave Matthews had released this solo collection of court jester crooning and nutty folk fantasies at the beginning of his career we might now think of him as a modern day Cat Stevens or at least a jig dancing Harry Chapin. Without his mighty band of muscular musicians to hold his hand Matthews frees his muse and embraces his inner songwriting genie. Over medium tempo grooves bulging with ostentatious strings, hesitant acoustic guitar and oddball percussion, Matthews wails and howls like little boy lost. Slogging through this stuff is so soul consuming that by the time you get to "Too High," with its pompous rock opera orchestral arrangement and portentous drums, you'll just surrender and let Dave have his way with you. It must be acknowledged that opener "Dodo" is a sly, sleek song about a flat earth and pancakes, and "Oh" is a lilting love rocker. But "Some Devil," "An' Another Thing" and "Baby" are so self-indulgent and whiny they make **Thom Yorke** look like a Disneyland employee. Of course, this will matter little to the millions who will buy this wobbly album and play it repeatedly as they gaze at Dave's goofy grin. Who said, "Kill your idols"?
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