Dave Matthews Band Vs. Fleetwood Mac
Join now to read essay Dave Matthews Band Vs. Fleetwood Mac
Critical Acclaim
Many multi-platinum bands receive fortune and a loyal fan base but never critical
acclaim, Fleetwood Mac and Dave Matthews band fill these shoes. Fleetwood Mac has
had many member changes throughout the bands existence, which has had a huge impact
stylistically on the band; they have gone from a bluesy sound to a more pop oriented
sound. Dave Matthews Bands sound has changed over time due to changes in
production. The sound has gone from a loose jamming sound with a lot of Jazz influence to a more polished studio sound.
“Hollywood (Some kind of town)” from Fleetwood Macs album Time (1995) has
a light poppy melody. “Dont Drink The Water” from Dave Matthews Bands
Before These Crowded Streets (1998) is a darker song with a banjo added in for added
effect. “Illume (9-11)” from Fleetwood Macs Say You Will (2003) is a song where Stevie Nicks sound is very guttural, it shows the pain she feels when confronting the memories of 9-11and the time that followed and paying tribute to the 9-11 victims. “American Baby” from Dave Matthews Bands 2005 album Stand Up has a rock and roll sound that portrays America.
Both Fleetwood Mac and Dave Matthews Band try to convey social issues to their
audience that are important to their bands. In Fleetwood Macs “Illume 9- 11” there is the
use of a flute, which makes you feel as if you are on a never-ending river.
In Dave Matthews Bands “American Baby” gunshots are played in the intro to paint a picture of the sounds of war. The imagery of lyrics used in “illume (9-11 is very powerful, “Because its just like a river, Its never ending” shows how the pain of 9-11 is never-ending. In Dave Matthews Bands “Dont Drink The Water” the lyric “Dont drink the water, Theres blood in the water” sums up the message the artists want you to come away with, that our history is tainted it hits you hard because the message is hard. Dave Matthews band easily pulled from the tough times America is facing today and confronted the war in Iraq in “American Baby” in Fleetwood Macs “Illume (9-11)” they are not confronting 9-11 but paying tribute to those who lost their lives and the artist is saying that forever their will be sorrow in America for what happened on that day.
Dave Matthews Band is passionate in their beliefs of their dislike for what is going on in America today and also for what has occurred in America’s past and it comes across in their music. Their music is very passionate and clearly gets their point across. Fleetwood Mac is a little less hard hitting in their message in “Hollywood (Some kind of Town)” they are singing about not liking Hollywood because the song writer is away from their family.
In Dave Matthews Band “Don’t Drink the Water” they are discussing the
genocide of the Native Americans from the prospective of the colonists. Our
history in America is tainted there is “Blood in the Water” we can not change our history
but we can pay tribute to it as Dave Matthews Band does. In comparison “Hollywood
(Some