We are VERY excited to share this compilation of Dave Matthews (solo) performances: "Acoustic Tracks, Volume 1" with you!!!
We recently connected with Matt and Shawn from The Pod That Jane Likes and discussed the idea of collaborating on a project together. We shared details on a couple projects we had in the pipeline, including this one, and - thrillingly - they said they would be happy to partner with us by putting together a podcast episode where they would discuss the tracks we're putting out there. After consideration, they let us know they wanted to take it a step further and decided they would launch a whole new spinoff podcast called "Remastered", which will be dedicated to discussing DMBRemasters projects and walking listeners through the tracks to give some context to the songs and performances; a kind-of roadmap for the listener. SO COOL!!! This is our first partnership with Matt and Shawn and we're really excited to be working with them on it!
We strongly recommend that you give a listen to the "Remastered" Podcast episode 1 either right before or right after listening to this compilation. It's an incredible companion piece that puts these songs and performances in context, and they share some beautifully poignant thoughts and anecdotes that will elevate your appreciation for the music itself. They did a fantastic job with their kick-off episode and had us completely engaged right from the start. They share additional insight about our collaboration together, and really highlight what makes this Acoustic Tracks compilation special in terms of how these performances came to be, what was going on when they were performed, and their significance in the grander DMB timeline.
The Project Backstory:
Hey, y'all! Jamie (djamieb) here! Xcacel approached me a couple months ago with an idea to compile the acoustic tracks of Dave solo performances from 2020 - 2023 that I had remastered for the DMB community and shared on the Antsmarching.org forums over the last few years (before he and I had started working together on this DMBRemasters website project). He had recently been re-listening to a bunch of those acoustic remasters I had done and said he felt there were some real gems that Dave had performed over the last few years, and he wondered if I also thought it would be a cool idea for us to compile the highlights from those remastered solo shows, sprinkle in a few songs that hadn't been remastered at all yet, and re-share them all with the community in compilations, spread across multiple volumes.
I LOVED the idea! (Xcacel is so thoughtful and creative with his ideas, so I'm not surprised, but always delighted!) Xcacel started sharing his favorite performances and sending me messages with different ideas and combinations of how we could put them together, along with which songs could go in each volume, etc. He landed on the idea of breaking them down by album eras, which I thought was terrific. The idea would be to have songs from the early 90's (R2T) ---> 1997 (Crash) for Volume 1, 1998 (BTCS) ---> 2007 (Stand Up and any other songs until 2008) for Volume 2, and 2009 (Big Whiskey) ---> 2023 (WATM), and also include any stand-out covers that were performed over the last few years to round out the Volume 3 compilation.
Once we had everything compiled, I laid out the Volume 1 selections, mastered the tracks that had not previously been enhanced, and made some adjustments to the full collection to ensure tighter consistency in both volume and EQ. Then I spruced up the overall sound for the entire collection, applied track fades, and gently glued everything together to sound cohesive as if it were an acoustic album. (Note: these broadcasts would sometimes abruptly cut into the audio of a fan making a request and would not let the last notes of a song fully ring out before transitioning to someone else talking, so I had to get creative and apply some pretty quick fades in those instances to work around the limitations, but I think that all turned out really well.)
Jamie's Mastering Notes:
Mastering:
During the mastering process, I applied corrective dynamic EQ, light glue compression, sweetening EQ, tasteful harmonic saturation, stereo spread to increase depth, mid/side reverb enhancement, and light limiting to address the transients while keeping the dynamics in tact.
Restoration Editing:
Additionally, I noticed a TON of small clicks, pops, and other distracting glitches littering the original audio files, likely a result of them all being webcast live over the internet. I've done a painstakingly detailed sweep over the last few weeks and addressed over 500(!) small clicks, pops, and glitches, deeply reducing those distracting clicks and pops either to the very faint background, or (in most cases) even completely eliminating them altogether. In total, I spent about 40+ hours on remastering this project and tried to make everything sound as cohesive, clear, warm, and smooth as I possibly could with the source material. I'm so proud of how it all sounds and I sincerely hope you enjoy the results!!!
Final Thoughts:
Thanks for reading this and for being here. We do all of this as a passion project to help spread some joy within the DMB community and work hard to bring out the best audio quality in these stellar performances to enhance your listening experience. These solo acoustic performances are subtle and beautifully nuanced; put on your favorite headphones or speakers, kick back for an hour, and enjoy!! :)
Can't wait to hear what y'all think!
~ Jamie (djamieb)
"Acoustic Tracks - Volume 1" Download Link:
"Remastered" Podcast:
Artwork:
You'll find below two options for artwork, which are also included in the download folder.
In addition to the "official" artwork that Xcacel designed, you'll find a great version with a photo of Dave in his home studio which has been designed by our friend Jon (look for dmbsetlists on IG). Feel free to choose whichever aesthetic you like for your own collection!
Dave Matthews
Acoustic Tracks - Volume 1
Source: SXM streams and YouTube Live Streams
Mastering and Editing: Jamie (djamieb)
Track Selections and Compiling: Xcacel and djamieb
01 Ants Marching
02 Tripping Billies
03 One Sweet World
04 Minarets
05 Seek Up
06 What Would You Say
07 Satellite
08 Dancing Nancies
09 Two Step
10 #41
11 Say Goodbye
12 Lie In Our Graves
13 Cry Freedom
14 Proudest Monkey
-----
Tracks 01, 02, 04: from Live From Home By Request, 2021.04.16
Tracks 03, 05, 09, 11, 12: from Live From Home By Request, 2020.10.02
Track 06: from Verizon: Pay It Forward, 2020.05.28
Track 07: from Farm Aid (At Home), 2020.04.11
Track 08: from Verizon: Pay It Forward, 2020.03.26
Tracks 10, 13: from Live From Home By Request, 2020.07.03
Track 14: from Live from Home (YouTube video), 2020.05.15
-----
Additional Notes:
This is the first volume in a series of three Dave Matthews Acoustic Tracks compilations that we'll be releasing.