Before These Crowded Streets

Infobox Album
Name = Before These Crowded Streets
Type = studio
Artist = Dave Matthews Band


Released = April 28, 1998
Recorded = The Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA & Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Genre = Jazz fusion, rock
Length = 70:14
Label = RCA
Producer = Steve Lillywhite
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5sq3g4smtv5z~T1 link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/230746/ link]
Last album = "Crash"
(1996)
This album = "Before These Crowded Streets"
(1998)
Next album = "Everyday"
(2001)
Misc = Singles
Name = Before These Crowded Streets
Type = studio
single 1 = Don't Drink the Water
single 1 date = 1998
single 2 = Stay (Wasting Time)
single 2 date = 1998
single 3 = Crush
single 3 date = 1998
single 4 = Rapunzel
single 4 date = 1998

"Before These Crowded Streets" (or "BTCS") is the third studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on April 28, 1998. It is the last official album by the group to be produced by longtime producer Steve Lillywhite. The album title is taken from the lyrics to the song "The Dreaming Tree." Currently, it is the only album by the band available on vinyl. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts after selling 421,000 units in its first week of release, which in turn knocked off the "Titanic" soundtrack from the top spot after a run of 16 consecutive weeks at #1.

Track listing

Special guest Tim Reynolds is featured on all tracks.

tracklist
extra_column = Guest musician(s)

writing_credits = yes

title1 = Pantala Naga Pampa
writer1 = Matthews
length1 = 0:40

title2 = Rapunzel
writer2 = Matthews, Lessard, Beauford
extra2 = Butch Taylor
length2 = 6:00

title3 = The Last Stop
writer3 = Matthews, Lessard
extra3 = Béla Fleck
length3 = 6:57

title4 = Don't Drink the Water
writer4 = Matthews
extra4 = Alanis Morissette, Béla Fleck
length4 = 7:01

title5 = Stay (Wasting Time)
writer5 = Matthews, Lessard, Moore
extra5 = Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, Brenda White King
length5 = 5:35

title6 = Halloween
writer6 = Matthews
extra6 = John D'earth, Kronos Quartet
length6 = 5:07

title7 = The Stone
writer7 = Matthews
extra7 = John D'earth, Kronos Quartet
length7 = 7:28

title8 = Crush
writer8 = Matthews
extra8 = Butch Taylor, Tim Reynolds
length8 = 8:09

title9 = The Dreaming Tree
writer9 = Matthews, Lessard
extra9 = Greg Howard
length9 = 8:48

title10 = Pig
writer10 = Matthews, Lessard, Beauford, Moore, Tinsley
length10 = 6:57

title11 = Spoon
writer11 = Matthews
extra11 = Alanis Morissette, Béla Fleck
length11 = 7:33

MacHead

"MacHead" was a song recorded during the album's sessions; however it was never completed, therefore it didn't make the album. Producer Steve Lillywhite named the song, claiming it sounded like a cross between the sound of Paul McCartney and Radiohead. The song's existence is only known from an image of a piece of paper circulated on the internet with a list of the working titles of the other songs on this album.quote|" [MacHead] is a song that we were working on for " [Before] These Crowded Streets" and it's a song that we just never got to completion before we finished the album. Who knows, maybe one of these days we'll finish it and record it again, but we finished the album before we finished the song." [cite web|url=http://antsmarching.org/story.php?NewsID=494|title=Boyd takes ESPN By Storm (Wimbledon Music) (Machead)|first=Joe|last=Maliszeski|date=2006-05-02|accessdate=2007-05-06|publisher=Antsmarching.org] |Boyd Tinsley|May 2006

Boyd's comments in 2006 refuted years of fan speculation regarding the identity of the song. Many fans familiar with the idea of Machead believed it had been developed, renamed, and added to the band's catalog. The most common speculation was that Machead developed into Bartender which debuted in January of 1999 at a Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert, just months after the April '98 release of Before These Crowded Streets.

ongs cut from the album

Songs that were recorded during the sessions, but weren't included on the final cut:
*"Help Myself" - later re-recorded and given to the "Scream 2" soundtrack. Long belived to have been recorded during the Crash sessions.
*"Don't Burn the Pig" – Evolved into Pig during the sessions.
*"Get in Line"
*"MacHead"
*"#40"

Personnel

Musicians

* Dave Matthews – acoustic guitar, vocals
* Carter Beauford– percussion, drums, background vocals
* Stefan Lessard – bass
* LeRoi Moore – bass clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, penny whistle
* Boyd Tinsley – violin

Additional personnel

* The Lovely Ladies – background vocals
** Tawatha Agee
** Cindy Myzell
** Brenda White-King
* John D'earth – trumpet
* Béla Fleck – banjo
* Greg Howard – Chapman Stick
* Kronos Quartet – strings
** David Harrington – violin
** John Sherba – violin
** Joan Jeanrenaud – cello
** Hank Dutt – viola
* Alanis Morissette – vocals
* Tim Reynolds – mandolin, electric guitar
* Butch Taylor – organ, piano

Production

* Producer – Steve Lillywhite
* Engineer – Stephen Harris
* Assistant Engineer – Joel Courtright, John Seymour
* Mastering – Ted Jensen
* Mixing – Steve Lillywhite
* Pre-Production – John Alagía
* Orchestral Arrangements – John D'earth
* Art Direction – Thane Kerner
* Design – Thane Kerner
* Photography – Ellen Von Unwerth

Charts

References

succession box
before = "Titanic (soundtrack)" by Various artists
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = May 16 - May 22 1998
after = "The Limited Series" by Garth Brooks