Don't Tell the Band [Digipak]
While large parts of their generation were trashing blues-based rock and searching for alternatives, Georgia's Widespread Panic eagerly picked up where theDeadand a generation of other improv-driven musicians left off. But that sense was hardly reactionary; indeed, WP's musical utopianism seems to have gleaned as much from alt-rock as theAllmans, infusing this 2001 collection with a bracing sense of adventure. Their seventh album encompasses the stylistic diversity longtime fans have come to expect, with that diversity now underscored by the walloping hard-rock edge on "Give," "Imitation Leather Shoes," and "Action Man." With vocalist John Bell's expressive, character-rich voice evoking spirits as diverse asSteve Miller,James Hetfield, andEddie Vedder, the band's tales of jaundiced romance and bleary-eyed life are ensconced in dreamy piano ballads ("This Part of Town"), neo-psych funk ("Thought Sausage"), and even rootsy Nashville-meets-Memphis novelty ("Big Wooly Mammoth"). Tellingly, WP infuse their cover of alt-rock pioneersFirehose's "Sometimes" with an infectious, Miller-esque pop groove that further highlights their sense of musical team play.--Jerry McCulley