Episode 23: The Lillywhite Sessions (Part 1)

In 2000, Dave Matthews Band was the biggest rock act in America. The group set out to record a fourth record, on the heels of its massive hit, 1998's Before These Crowded Streets. It was a doomed process. The album's sessions eventually leaked anyway—to widespread positive reviews. The band obviously and rightfully rejected this act of defiance and piracy. The record-that-wasn't maintains a stellar reputation by fans all these years later, flaws and all. It's become one of the most well-known aborted albums in popular American music history, in part because it happened near the birth of the Napster era. Twenty-two years later, the story of the infamous sessions is recounted by DMB's lead engineer, Steve Harris. Lillywhite himself will be featured in part two.