Rediscovered Dave

If fans were shaking their heads in disappointment at Dave Matthew Band's recent stinker Everyday, they'll be even more depressed when they hear the album it could have been. Thanks to the power of file sharing, the Steve Lillywhite-produced album that the band almost released before being shelved last summer has leaked to the eager Internet fan community.

The Lillywhite sessions, as they're known, can be found as tinny-sounding MP3 files around the web. Their production is unfinished, with levels often unbalanced and studio flourishes almost totally absent. Nevertheless, it's eminently listenable stuff-and a remarkable departure in song quality from the unbearably bland Everyday. These songs, known only as the Lillywhite sessions, have at least a few diamonds amid their rough sound.

The difference between these songs and those on Everyday is that the Lillywhite sessions are completely within the vein of Dave's now seemingly abandoned former style. It's nothing particularly new, of course, but while Everyday flubbed the two things that Dave does best-laid back ballads and climaxing epics-they're both in full force here.

In fact, some of this material ranks among Dave's best work. "Bartender" and "Grey Street" are two songs proven in the live arena that hold up extremely well in the studio, although "Bartender" is stretched too long at over 10 minutes. "Captain" (transformed from "Crazy," a staple on the Dave and Tim Reynolds tour) emits a plaintive jazz room feel, and "Grace is Gone" is a heartbreakingly gentle country song.

Still, there are some duds. A soaring chorus can't rescue the lurching "Raven," and "Monkey Man" bears the same poor song construction that plagues Everyday. But it's still astounding to think that this whole album was simply abandoned when some record exec didn't like it. Though Dave has said these songs were made when he and his band were in a difficult time, he certainly sounds more relaxed here, and the band sounds like more than just his background.

Ultimately, the reason the record company killed these sessions may never be revealed. Assuming that Everyday-which plummeted half a million units in sales during its second week-was merely an unfortunate glitch, it's only the label's loss now that fans have free access to this solid work in halted progress.