Come Tomorrow Tracklist Revealed
Posted by Sean Balogh in Album News at 10:10am on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018
Hello Friends. Kentucky Derby week is here, and post positions have been awarded. Betting lines have been posted. There’s a lot of information out there, and yet nobody knows what will shake out come race time (this Saturday). Who would have thought a 144 year old horse race would have so much in common with a new Dave Matthews Band release?
Earlier today, our beloved boys from Virginia continued their pattern of weekly notices about their much anticipated album. We now have a track list. Last week they let us know the title of the album (Come Tomorrow), the release date (June 8th, 2018), and the bonus releases coming with it (there’s too many to include in a parenthetical, there was an email sent out about it, but to make this short they all sound pretty damn good. That #34 from the Gorge has me jazzed). Today’s announcement also indicates the first single, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), will be released nationwide next Friday, May 10th. So, once again, there’s a lot of information to parse through and make predictions and all that’s left to do is sit back and wait.
Its been 6 years since the group’s last studio effort, and to say this one’s a bit of a departure from the norm would be accurate. Most notably, this collaboration is just that, a collaboration. Traditionally each record has been produced by just one producer. Steve Lillywhite did 1994’s Under The Table And Dreaming, 1996’s Crash, 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets, and 2012’s Away From the World; Glen Ballard was recruited for 2001’s Everyday; Stephen Harris was nabbed for 2002’s Busted Stuff; Mark Batson produced 2005’s Stand Up; and finally Rob Cavallo was enlisted for 2008’s Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King. Come Tomorrow, however, boasts 4 producers. Cavallo and Batson return, longtime studio friend John Alagia assists, and the band welcomed newcomer Rob Evans to lend a hand as well. Each of the four reportedly tackle individual songs. Some will be obvious (it’s pretty safe to assume that Batson will be handling Can’t Stop, as that was originally written with him during the sessions that produced Stand Up) while many others remain a mystery.
Impressively, Come Tomorrow will feature 14 tracks. Let’s go track by track and break down what we know.
Samurai Cop – We’ve heard this one before. Debuting at the band’s 25th anniversary show in Charlottesville back in 2016, this one’s now bene played 80 times live in various settings. Of the 80 full plays, 32 have been just Dave and Tim, 10 have been just Dave by himself, and the remaining 38 have been full band. It’s anybody’s guess as to which version will appear on the album in a month. Luckily this one will be out next Friday, so we won’t have to wait long.
Can’t Stop – Somehow, this Stand Up era song made the cut this year. Initially recorded for and then cut from the 2005 album, Can’t Stop has now been played in full 75 times. Much derided by hardcore fans but generally considered to be a passable up-tempo song by everybody else, I guess we wait with bated breath to see if this one’s gone through any significant changes in the studio.
Here On Out – Here we have a simple song debuting with a full backing orchestra on a PBS special in November of 2016. While that one play remains the only public appearance of this song, it’s transfixing. Dave’s repetitive guitar riff is soothing and relaxing, and the humble vocal delivery brings back memories of the old DMB. You know, the same voice that gave us such delicate tunes as I’ll Back You Up and Cry Freedom.
That Girl is You – Coming in at fourth on the album is our first encounter with a true unknown. Like, nothing. Well, ok, let me backtrack. We know Mark Batson’s HEARD it. So this one’s probably not produced by him. He said he asked to hear it 4 times in a row, and described it in an Instagram comment as “a freaking amazing performance.” But that’s it so far. It’s possible this one’s a reworked title of the twice-played Plastic Girl, but it seems Dave relented to the quick and vocal dislike from the fanbase on that.
She – Ok, this one I haven’t heard anything about. All I’ve got for this one is the name is similar to Che, a song from Tim Reynolds’ solo album The Limbic System. It’s probably not that song, though.
Idea of You – FINALLY! This 2006 era song has been visited in the studio and scrapped seemingly every year for over a decade. Boasting 110 full plays and widely regarded as one of Dave’s most recent “classic dmb sound” songs, we’re finally getting a studio cut of it. In another Instagram comment, Batson said he heard versions (plural) of this track including the late Leroi Moore. Featuring that Little Red Guitar used exclusively for Idea of You and Shotgun, the tone of the Veillette Soprano 12 string is enough to make every day feel like a summer evening.
Virginia In The Rain – To be honest, although this one’s been played 39 times and I’ve heard it live twice, I can’t remember a thing about it. Through some relistening today, I realized why. To my ears, it’s just flat. It’s been performed by Dave & Tim almost two dozen times, but every performance has included Dave sitting at the piano. The slow, brooding feel of the song is reminiscent of something, I just can’t put my finger on what. I guess, to sum this one up, I’m anxious to hear if it’s been fleshed out in the studio. I don’t envision it being in my top DMB songs, but it does have a lot of potential to work with.
Again and Again – Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear this one is named after the lyrics from JTR. Batson has confirmed this is a reworked title for the song previously known as Bob Law saying “It made more sense to Dave as we came down the stretch”. Another Dave piano song, this one seems to have originated in 2015 when a musician leaked out the sheet music for three different songs. Those three ended up being Again and Again, Bismarck (more on this one later), and Here On out. This one’s good, it’s upbeat, and the lyrics make sense. But it’s not JTR, and that upsets me.
bkdkdkdd – No folks, that’s not a typo. I don’t know what it is, but it is accurate. Maybe this one’s secretly Be Yourself (that’s the morning line favorite, but Keen Ice upset Triple Crown winner American Pharoah up here in Saratoga, so anything’s possible I guess. By the way, I would’ve hit the Superfecta on that race had I gotten out of work in time to place the bet, so if anybody needs some last minute Kentucky Derby tips for Saturday we have a Horse Racing thread). Maybe it’s an Afrikaans translation for something (it’s not). Maybe it’s an old song about worms somebody got from eating some bad take-out in the studio. Maybe it’s an allusion to #RoiBombs, an old gag where Leroi would blindly type characters onto band members’ iPhones and the resulting “phrase” would be saved. Batson is being mysteriously coy about this one, only saying it’s a “hidden gem.” If you know anything about this one, please quell some fears over in the Come Tomorrow thread.
Black and Blue Bird – Again, another road tested slow song. With 64 plays (debuting at the Legends on Letterman Show in 2015), we’ve heard it. More or less, we know what we’re getting with this one. One notable tidbit on this one though, it’s probably much older than we think. Registered with ASCAP, the listed writing credits go to Dave, Jeff, Rashawn, and then Doug Taylor McKean. Astute readers may realize Doug isn’t a member of the band. Good job. It appears Doug is a studio engineer the band was working with back in 2013. Rolling Stone published an article in November of that year quoting Dave as saying he was working with Cavallo and McKean on “something that doesn’t sound like the past.” I guess we got Black and Snooze Blue Bird and Virginia in the Rain out of that session.
Come Tomorrow – The titular track is, again, unknown. I can’t find anything on this one. No writing credit is available publicly, it’s not a new title for a known song as best I can find, and there’s not even any indication as to how long this one’s been kept under wraps.
When I’m Weary – More of that here.
So, where does that leave us. First, there’s lots of potential here. Of the tracks we know (8 definite) most are at the very least good. There’s room for improvement on a lot of them, none of them are downright bad, and given the proper time in the studio with creative minds working on them, I’m confident they can be improved.
Secondly, it appears some of the most anticipated tracks won’t be released, at least for now. Songs like Bismarck, Shotgun, Break For It, and Break Free won’t be on the album, as far as we can tell. Batson has hinted on Instagram that it’s possible they’ll be released later, either as a bonus track or some other such release. He’s stated that while everybody really liked Bismarck, for example, it just didn’t seem to fit on the album. Reportedly, this album is more of a concept album than a collection of songs. Representing the past, present, and future of DMB, the 14 selected tracks are the most representative and Bismarck simply didn’t work in that theme. That’s fair enough, I suppose. But for now, we’ll just have to wait. There’s just about a month until the whole album is released, and most of our questions will be answered.
