Rapunzel (song)
| "Rapunzel" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Dave Matthews Band | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Before These Crowded Streets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Progressive rock, jazz fusion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length |
4:50 (Radio edit) 6:00 (Album version) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | RCA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Matthews, Stefan Lessard, Carter Beauford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dave Matthews Band singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Rapunzel" is the second track and was the last single of the Dave Matthews Band 1998 album, Before These Crowded Streets. It is featured on the Dave Matthews Band compilation album The Best of What's Around Vol. 1.
Originally titled "Funk in 5", "Rapunzel" evolved from an instrumental jam that the band had played live in 1994. Four years later, the jam was reworked in the studio and lyrics were added to complete the track. The song was released as the band's fourth and final single off this album; however, it never became a hit on the radio. At the end of the song, saxophonist LeRoi Moore can be heard talking on the phone with somebody he refers to as "Greg" while people are talking in the background.
This track directly segues into the following track, "The Last Stop". The song also features Butch Taylor on the organ.
The song employs an unusual time signature: 5/4 for the intro, 6/4 in transition to verse, 4/4 for the verses, 6/8 for the bridge, and 4/4 jam.
In concert
When played live by the band, the song is almost always preceded by "Pantala Naga Pampa," which segues into the song, similarly to the way the two appear on Before These Crowded Streets. There is a jam section at the closing of the piece including a soprano saxophone solo by LeRoi Moore (now Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross); a brief jam is heard on the studio version. During the band's 2001 Tour, Matthews played electric guitar on this song four times.
Track listing
- "Rapunzel" (edit) — 4:50
- "Rapunzel" (album version) — 6:00