Fun, ZZ-Top inspired grunge album that was on the charts and radio for a good 2 years.

Here was a nice, pleasant, unobtrusive Smashing Pumpkins clone from the Pacific Northwest which never quite broke through on a major level. On this, their second album, they come close. "Dizzy" is all power-pop irony and gooey vibes, strengthened by the vocal dexterity of Tyler Willman and Mari Ann Braeden, and it fit right in with 1995's post-Cobain landscape.

Somehow out of all of the 70's Southern Rock bands it was the Atlanta Rhythm Section who finagled a visit to the White House in the midst of their most successful year of existence. They also released this record, Champagne Jam, a glittering yet fairly nondescript toast to the professional musician studio rat lifestyle of the late 1970's. One can't help but imagine piles of snow beside rows of mixing consoles, stacks of tape reels, and wafting smoke trails as the title track or "Imaginary Lover" wailed their sybaritic tones aloud.

A flashy, borderline outrageous hybrid of Mountain's power-trio groovin', Simon and Garfunkel sensitivity, and flippant hippie attitude. Produced by Shadow Morton.

This is both an easy and difficult album to assess. Easy to write it off because it's essentially a pieced together jumble that suffers from its' dated-to-the-era production values. So where do the difficulties lie? Unlike the previous album (and even some earlier classics) I find it hard to tell if Walsh is trying to live up to his funny-man reputation here, or if the joke is on him, in a very self-deprecating manner. Which is what makes The Confessor an intriguing proposition. One distinguishing characteristic here are the large amount of session musicians compared to previous albums. That, and the aforementioned production job - especially the drums - which can come off as pretty sterile upon initial listens. Plus, Walsh himself plays a lot of synthesizer and talk box. BUT...unlike the previous album, the more you listen to this stuff, the more it grows on you, because of Walsh and his endearing, inviting style. The material is also pretty good. Not great, but good. The start is fairly lackluster with the lame reggae of "Problems" backed by the rambling diatribe "I Broke My Leg". Then the album kicks off in earnest with the genuinely funny yet sad sack "Bubbles". A couple of tracks later, Walsh gets down and dirty, and pokes fun at himself at the same time, on the raucous "15 Years". However, the undeniable focal point is the title track, which tone-wise feels like the most serious Joe has been in a long time, yet taken within the context of album, one cannot help but think it's deep cover for something less than.