For the first time in what has to be three or four years, I listened today to Crash by the Dave Matthews Band. It took awhile to dig it out of the attic, though. (That's figurative, because it's now on my iPod.)

I used to listen to Crash constantly and ultimately burned out, and not just from listening. In my free time, using my Yamaha digital keyboard, I spent hours coming up with piano and strings accompaniments to songs like "Tripping Billies" and "Proudest Monkey." Then, a DMB-obsessed drummer colleague of mine roped me and my guitarist friend Dan into renting out studio space and playing out our own Dave Matthews jam sessions. It was just keyboards, drums and guitar, but with the help of my keyboard's piano and strings sounds, we managed to improvise pretty cool renditions of songs like "Two Step." (In the process, I learned from this colleague a lot about percussion and why Carter Beauford, the DMB drummer, is so technically excellent. I've paid much more attention to percussion in rock and pop songs ever since.)

I noticed things this time around I hadn't before, and with an album you've owned for a long time, that's fascinating. One such aspect is how well the lyrics match the instrumentation, tempo and melody of the songs. For example, the carefree exhortations of "Tripping Billies" match a resounding jam building to just the right level without stretching it. Equally appropriately, the verse harmonies of "So Much to Say" seem to struggle for a declarative resolution.

If Crash falls short on one front, though, it sounds just a little too polished. The band's previous effort, Under the Table and Dreaming, captures a slightly more wholesome, authentic feel to music whose instruments (violin, sax, bass, drums and guitar) demand it. Crash takes away this intangible earthiness just a little too much. Crash is the home that is spotless because it is brand new; Under the Table and Dreaming is clean, but lived in and vibrant. I wish Crash would be re-released with the more authentic sound quality, though DMB's later material--especially the Central Park live album--seem to remove the excess polish.

Crash is an outstanding album and rediscovering it today was rewarding. It's always going to be one of my favorites.