Radio City is different, though. Matthews, accompanied by longtime collaborator Tim Reynolds, churns through 26 songs, most from the DMB back catalogue, breathing new life into some weary old songs. Thankfully, they have the good sense to leave songs like “Jimi Thing” and “Warehouse” off the set list, but retreads of old standards like “Lie in our Graves” and “Crash into Me” sound particularly inspired this time around. Reynolds’s virtuoso guitar work is more reserved than on 1999’s Luther College. He doesn’t overpower any of the songs, but adds subtle layers that are still sonically amazing.
For good measure, the pair throw in a couple of new songs, tackle songs by Daniel Lanois and Neil Young, and even incorporate Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” into “Don’t Drink the Water.”
Matthews’s best years as an artist may be behind him, but Radio City is a most welcome reminder of what he’s capable of when at his best.
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