Dave Matthews must have sold his soul to some devil to become the beautiful song machine that he has established himself to be over the past decade. On his solo debut, Dave takes his songwriting to a more private and personal place. The separation from The Dave Matthews Band, while attracting some slack from fans and critics, was a bold artistic and career move for the recording veteran.
Straying from the progressive jazzy instrumentation of a typical Dave Matthews Band album, Some Devil veers more towards the folky guitar ballad side, a side that seems to be at the core of most symphonic Band releases. That said, this is definitely Dave stripped down to the core.
The album highlights include the hauntingly engaging tracks; "An' Another Thing", a creepy guitar plucking, violin blanketed dream; and "Gravedigger", an informal death wish so powerful that two versions were put on the disc. "Gravedigger/when you dig my grave/can you make it shallow/so that I can feel the rain?". Enter chills. A track like "Up and Away" is distinctively different than Dave Matthews Band, with a folk music Bruce Springsteen esque sound complete with "Glory Days" keyboards. There are also some scattered electronic drums and effects that give this album a life of it’s own.
Instead of abusing his status with a "one for the money" solo album, Dave has proven, while the Mick Jaggers and Bonos of the world illuminate only with the rest of their bandmates, that he is in fact the heart and soul of something that he doesn't need in order to shine.