Amazon.com review - Don't let the headless CGI dancer on the cover fool you. While Stand Up has a more organic feel than 2001's radio-ready Everyday, it is hardly an invocation for carefree days spent twirling on the grass. Instead it is a call to arms that carries over much of the insurrectionary spirit the Dave Matthews Band brought to 2004's Vote For Change Tour. Matthews, sounding rawer than ever, swerves between optimism ("To change the world you only start with one step," he sings on "You Might Die Trying") and angst ("See the man with the bomb in his hand/Everybody wake up," goes "Everybody Wake Up [Our Finest Hour Arrives]"), while producer Mark Baston, best known for his small-time work with big-name pop acts like Beyonce and 50 Cent, responds by putting the marching band rhythms of Carter Beauford in the front and galvanizing the music with a crisp R&B edge, most evident in the totally--okay, partially--crunk "Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd."
CD released May 10, 2005.
Articles, reviews, and interviews:
Rolling Stone review
All Music review
Track List:
1. Dreamgirl
2. Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back)
3. Stand Up (For It)
4. American Baby Intro
5. American Baby
6. Smooth Rider
7. Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives)
8. Out Of My Hands
9. Hello Again
10. Louisiana Bayou
11. Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd
12. You Might Die Trying
13. Steady As We Go
14. Hunger For The Great Light
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