Live At Radio City

iTunes Review

Unplugged albums are just about mandatory for any veteran pop/rock artist, and Dave Matthew has been down that road already, but this recording — featuring Matthews paired once again with cohort Tim Reynolds — more than justifies its existence. The duo turns this concert of old favorites, new tunes and well-selected covers into an intimate listening experience, with lots of chatty commentary and extended acoustic guitar flights. Matthews taps the emotional cores of familiar numbers like “Gravedigger” and “Crash Into Me,” while Reynolds has revelatory moments of his own with “You Are My Sanity” and “Betrayal.” Matthews’ gargled vocal slurs and thorny phrasing are easier to appreciate in this stripped-down context — without the sometimes cluttered arrangements of his band getting in the way, he draws out the inner fire coursing through “Grace Is Gone,” “Some Devil,” “Crush” and other tunes. Renditions of Neil Young’s “Down By The River” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” compliment the originals nicely. Matthews fanatics will no doubt delight in this release, but even Dave’s doubters will come away impressed by the fluency and bite of these performances.