Edited By Mike Breen

· The K.G.B. -- The K.G.B. (Dreamworks).
Youthful Oakland-based The K.G.B., like most people under 21, are having an identity crisis. Unlike most adolescents, though, they also have a huge recording contract with a major label, and a debut that shows their lack of musical sense-of-self in full bloom. The band's giddy, self-titled debut long-player is eclecticism of the worse kind, resulting in an album that is frustratingly inconsistent. When you hear well-constructed Pop songs such as the Elvis Costello-like "Fortune and Fame" and the Motown-ish ballad "It's Your World, Babe," you can see that these guys possess, at the very least, a strong knack for catchy songwriting. But, along the way, the band meanders into over-sequencing, nerdy Hip Hop posturing, Ska-like horns and a hodge-podge of musical borrowing, all of which stinks of a band trying to appease expectations. The worst offense of the album, "I'm a Player," is an embarrassing, peppy faux-Rap number that ends up sounding like a teen boy band like LFO. As essentially a Rock band that doesn't have the angst of today's guitar-driven hitmakers, maybe The K.G.B. see fluffy, regurgitated Pop as their only chance at success. (MB)
CityBeat grade: C.

· Gov't Mule -- The Deep End Volume 1 (ATO).
Gov't Mule bassist Allen Woody (who died last August) would no doubt be very pleased with his band's new album. Instead of rushing to fill the bass vacancy, singer/guitarist Warren Hayes (who met Woody when both were with the reformed Allman Brothers Band in 1989) conceived this novel, fitting tribute. Hayes tracked down a true pantheon of Rock & Roll bass players to perform on The Deep End Volume 1, a bar-room party of Blues/Rock finesse that mixes new Hayes material, a few select covers and some leftover songs that Hayes saw renewed potential in, given his new collaborators. If you had to pick the top bassists in Rock history, some of the guys chosen here would be givens. Bootsy Collins, Flea, Mike Watt, Cream's Jack Bruce and The Who's John Entwistle (a Volume 2, featuring Les Claypool, Phil Lesh and Me'shell N'Degeocello, is due next year, along with a film documentary about the sessions) are among the many four-stringers who take turns on the low-end. The results are mostly successful, with the bassists' greatest contributions generally being that they slip seamlessly into Hayes vision without stepping all over the songs. The best features of Gov't Mule's music were the kinetic, spontaneous vibe and the undeniable chemistry between Hayes, Woody and drummer Matt Abts. By continuing their practice of recording everything live-in-the-studio, Hayes & Co. do a great job of recapturing the Mule's spirit. Highlights of the set include the Creedence Clearwater Revival cover, "Effigy," which features Watt on bass and Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell on harmony vocals, "Worried Down With the Blues," with various Allman Brothers Band members, and "Sco-Mule," a groovy instrumental live staple Hayes recorded with Jazz guitarist John Scofield, keyboardist Bernie Worrell and bassist Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin and Wood. (MB)
CityBeat grade: B.

· Sloan -- Pretty Together (Murderecords).
While it's easy to consider Canada's Sloan as one of the best guitar-based Pop/Rock bands going, the group's spotty recorded output hasn't always proven that point. Perhaps it's the too-many-cooks principle (each band member writes songs), but, while containing some truly amazing songs, each album the band has released since its inception nearly a decade ago has had its share of mediocre songs. Fortunately, the song ratio leans more toward "good"; 1998's Navy Blues was the closest to a total bust. The band's last album, Between the Bridges, was as close the band has ever come to making a start-to-finish great album. So it's a bit surprising that Pretty Together is such a split decision, with the band's exquisitely crafted, Classic Rock-informed songwriting giving way to too many half-hearted throwaways. Among the songs that live up to Sloan's cult legacy are "The Great Wall," which revels in the icy, unforgettable catchiness of Bridges' best, the soothing, Beatles-y "The Life of a Working Girl," and the radiant, harmony-laden ballad, "Are You Giving Me Back My Love?" The less-than-brilliant songs are mostly the "rockers," including "Pick It Up and Dial It," a slice of redundant Arena Rock that sounds like it was peeled off the bottom of KISS's moon boots, and the unnecessarily sprawling "Never Seeing the Ground for the Sky," which fails to lift off. Ultimately, the melodies on Pretty Together just don't stick as easily as they could. The band's inconsistency can be seen as part of the beauty of the Sloan's mystique ­ the affable losers fall short of genius once again. But it's that same quality that is so frustrating and, possibly, one of the reasons the band ­ superstars in their homeland ­ have failed to crack the U.S. marketplace with any great success. That said, Pretty Together is still a decent album, just one with room for improvement. (MB)
CityBeat grade: B.

E-mail Mike Breen

Spill It (October 25, 2001)
Spill It (October 18, 2001)
Spill It (October 11, 2001)
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