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Under the Table and Dreaming

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"The Best of What's Around" redirects here. For the compilation album, see The Best of What's Around Vol. 1.
Under the Table and Dreaming
Studio album by
Dave Matthews Band
ReleasedSeptember 27, 1994 (1994-09-27)
RecordedMay 1994
StudioBearsville (Woodstock, New York)
Genre
Length62:52
LabelRCA
ProducerSteve Lillywhite
Dave Matthews Band chronology
Recently
(1994) 		Under the Table and Dreaming
(1994) 		Crash
(1996)
Singles from Under the Table and Dreaming
  1. "What Would You Say"
    Released: September 1994
  2. "Jimi Thing"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Typical Situation"
    Released: 1995
  4. "Ants Marching"
    Released: September 1995
  5. "Satellite"
    Released: November 1995

Under the Table and Dreaming is the debut studio album by the American rock band Dave Matthews Band, released on September 27, 1994. The album's first single was "What Would You Say", featuring John Popper of Blues Traveler on harmonica. Four other singles from the album followed: "Jimi Thing", "Typical Situation", "Ants Marching", and "Satellite". By March 16, 2000, the album had sold six million copies, and was certified six times platinum by the RIAA.[1]

Recording

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The acoustic guitar tracks on the album were played by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. During the recording sessions, Matthews and Reynolds would sit face-to-face with a piece of glass between them, playing the same guitar part. This was done twice for each song to yield a total of four acoustic guitar tracks, two apiece from Matthews and Reynolds. Producer Steve Lillywhite frequently turned the volume down on Matthews' parts and turned the volume up on Reynolds', resulting in Reynolds' guitar playing being more prominent on the final album. Reynolds then overdubbed additional acoustic and electric guitar parts.[2]

Matthews has stated during performances that the harmonica solo performed by John Popper on "What Would You Say" was done in only five to ten minutes, while Matthews was in the bathroom.

"Granny" was recorded for this release and Matthews wanted this to be the band's first single, but the song never made it to any of the studio albums. A studio version of this track is included on the 2014 reissue of the album.[3]

"#34" is the only instrumental track on the album although it was played live with lyrics on nine occasions in 1993, prior to the band taking it to the studio. The band originally recorded the song with lyrics, but they were removed from the final album cut.

The album's title comes from a lyric of the song "Ants Marching": "[He] remembers being small / playing under the table and dreaming".

The album was dedicated to Matthews' older sister Anne, who was killed by her husband in 1994 in a murder–suicide. Included in the jewel case packet is a picture of Dave Matthews and one of Anne's children.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[7]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
The Village VoiceC+[10]

Stereo Review noted that "Matthews is a lucid dreamer and idealist whose folk-jazz forays call to mind Bruce Cockburn, another square peg who wins fans with a combination of artistry and perseverance."[11] The Baltimore Sun determined that "the band has a great sense of groove, evincing all the rhythmic discipline of a jazz band without ever losing its sense of the song."[12]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by David J. Matthews, except "#34" by Matthews, LeRoi Moore, Carter Beauford and Haines Fullerton

Under the Table and Dreaming track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Best of What's Around"4:17
2."What Would You Say"3:43
3."Satellite"4:52
4."Rhyme & Reason"5:16
5."Typical Situation"5:59
6."Dancing Nancies"6:08
7."Ants Marching"4:31
8."Lover Lay Down"5:38
9."Jimi Thing"5:57
10."Warehouse"7:06
11."Pay for What You Get"4:35
12."#34"4:58
20th anniversary edition bonus tracks [3]
No.TitleLength
13."Granny"3:56
14."Dancing Nancies" (Acoustic)4:13
15."The Song That Jane Likes" (Acoustic)2:56

Note: Original CD editions of the album include 22 tracks of silence between "Pay for What You Get" and "#34".

Personnel

[edit]
Dave Matthews Band
Additional musicians
  • Tim Reynolds – acoustic guitar
  • John Popper – harmonica on "What Would You Say"
  • John Alagía, Michael McDonald, Andrew Page, Jeff Thomas  – additional vocals on "Dancing Nancies" and "What Would You Say"
  • Steve Forman – additional percussion on "Typical Situation"
Technical personnel
  • Steve Lillywhite – producer
  • Chris Dickie – engineer
  • Andrew Page – assistant engineer
  • Tom Lord-Alge – mixing engineer
  • Rory Romano – mixing assistant
  • Dave Betancourt – mixing assistant
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Thane Kerner – art direction, design
  • Stuart Dee – photography
  • Sam Erickson, Christopher Bunn, Will Kerner, Taylor Crothers – additional photography

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Platinum 100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[18] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "RIAA- Gold & Platinum Searchable Database (Page 5)". Riaa.com. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  2. ^ Rodgers, Jeffrey Pepper (1999). "Band in a Box", Acoustic Guitar, String Letter Publishing, 1999.
  3. ^ a b "20th Anniversary Newly Remastered Deluxe Vinyl Edition of Under The Table And Dreaming To Be Released November 24th". Davematthewsband.com. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  4. ^ Martell, Nevin (2004-06-15). Dave Matthews Band: Music for the People, Revised and Updated – Nevin Martell s. ISBN 9780743493826. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Under the Table and Dreaming – Dave Matthews Band / Dave Matthews". AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2009). "Matthews, Dave, Band". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-972636-3. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  7. ^ Eddy, Chuck (November 11, 1994). "Under the Table and Dreaming". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  8. ^ Warren, Bruce (December 18, 1994). "The Dave Matthews Band: Under the Table and Dreaming (RCA)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  9. ^ Puterbaugh, Parke (2004). "Dave Matthews Band". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 519–20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert (November 28, 1995). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  11. ^ Puterbaugh, Parke (Feb 1995). "Under the Table and Dreaming by the Dave Matthews Band". Stereo Review. Vol. 60, no. 2. p. 140.
  12. ^ Considine, J. D. (Oct 7, 1994). "Dave Matthews Band has stunning debut". Features. The Baltimore Sun. p. 5.
  13. ^ "Dave Matthews Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Dave Matthews Band – Under the Table and Dreaming". Music Canada. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  18. ^ "American album certifications – Dave Matthews Band – Under the Table and Dreaming". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
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