When people think of great guitarists, often names like Jimi Hendrix, Greg Allman, or Jimmy Page come to mind. Players who know how to write solos that touch the heavens and make a person’s soul shatter from the inside out. But guitars are used for more things than just face-melting solos. And when it comes to playing rhythm guitar, there are few players better than Dave Matthews.
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It’s easy to stare at Matthews for his antics on stage—his odd dancing, the faces his makes while bending out the words of his songs into the microphone. But if you look at his hands as he plays, you’ll be even more astonished. His fingers at times look like spiders walking the neck. Indeed, he’s a fantastic acoustic player. And these are three songs that prove he’s one of the greatest rhythm players.
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“The Stone” from Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
Released on the band’s 1998 LP Before These Crowded Streets, “The Stone” has become a fan favorite. It’s also one the Dave Matthews Band enjoys playing live, as they did for their 1999 live album Listener Supported. Watching the live version, you see Matthews’ hands working overtime, playing notes that aren’t often played in sequence. He’s all over the strings, moving effortlessly and singing all at the same time. Matthews is a master of minimalism when it comes to chords, just as he is one of dexterity when it comes to licks.
“Rhyme & Reason” from Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
It would be one thing to write and then play this lick perfectly live. But it’s another thing all together to sing over it as if you’re strumming a simple G-major chord. It’s like Matthews’ hands have their own brains, their own central nervous systems. Because he plays this song’s riff with ease as he sings about heroin use and the darkness that can come from that addiction. It almost seems impossible—as anyone who’s tried to do it on their own can attest.
“Recently” from Recently (1994)
Another song that shows great bounce, agility, and mobility when it comes to Matthews’ hands. It’s almost like he’s playing a horn line with his acoustic guitar, hopping from one note to another. And while most players would change from the riff to easier chords during the verses, Matthews does not hesitate to keep the beat going. It’s supremely impressive. For other songs where he does this, check out “Satellite” and “Too Much.”
Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images On Location
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