| "The Last Stop" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Dave Matthews Band from the album Before These Crowded Streets | ||||
| Released | April 28, 1998 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 6:57 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer | Matthews, Lessard | |||
| Composer | Dave Matthews Band | |||
| Producer | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| Before These Crowded Streets track listing | ||||
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"The Last Stop" is a song by Dave Matthews Band and the third track from their 1998 album, Before These Crowded Streets. The previous track, "Rapunzel," segues into a cilp of saxophonist LeRoi Moore answering his cell phone, which in turn leads directly into the song.
The song stands out with its Eastern influences, dark, violent themes, and harsh vocals. It also features Béla Fleck on the banjo. A reprise to the song is featured as an unlabeled track at the end of album, after "Spoon." When played live, "The Last Stop" often segues into the outro, which is performed with the whole band as opposed to the guitar-only version on the album. The outro is a stark contrast to the song, with a peaceful melody and simple, calming lyrics.
During the Winter 1998 tour, the song often featured Tim Reynolds on electric guitar and Fleck on banjo. Closer to Christmas time that year, Fleck was know to interpolate Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" during the reprise outro, such as during the 20 minute plus performance released on Live Trax Vol. 1.
The band did not play "The Last Stop" for almost three years after playing it at the Gorge Amphitheater on 8 August 2003. The song returned on 2 July 2006 during a concert at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. It was also played six days later at Fenway Park, in Boston.
"The Last Stop" made a comeback at West Palm Beach's Cruzan Amphitheater on July 31, 2010. This was the first time in over 1400 days the song was played. After the comeback, it was played sporadically during the remainder of the 2010 summer tour and was played heavily during DMB's 2010 fall tour.
A live version of "The Last Stop" appears on the following albums: