One of the many neo-hippie jam bands inheriting the road-warrior mantle left behind by the Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic established a devout grassroots following on the strength of constant touring and a loose, rootsy brand of Southern rock informed by jazz and blues textures. The group's origins dated to 1982, when vocalist John Bell and... [+] Read More

One of the many neo-hippie jam bands inheriting the road-warrior mantle left behind by the Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic established a devout grassroots following on the strength of constant touring and a loose, rootsy brand of Southern rock informed by jazz and blues textures. The group's origins dated to 1982, when vocalist John Bell and guitarist Mike Houser first began playing together while attending college in Athens, GA; when bassist Dave Schools left academia to join the duo the next year, Widespread Panic was officially born. The band recorded their debut single, "Coconut Image," in 1986; drummer Todd Nance joined soon after, followed by the addition of percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz and finally keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann.

Widespread Panic released their energetic debut LP, Space Wrangler, in 1988 on the tiny Landslide label; after several years of relentless touring, they signed to major label Capricorn, which issued the group's eponymously titled sophomore effort in 1991. Appearances on the 1992 and 1993 H.O.R.D.E. tours greatly expanded their fan base prior to 1993's Everyday, while 1994's Ain't Life Grand spawned the AOR hits "Airplane" and "Can't Get High." After teaming with fellow Georgian Vic Chesnutt to record 1995's Nine High a Pallet under the name Brute, Widespread Panic reconvened for the album Bombs and Butterflies, released in 1997. In the spring of 1998, the band released Light Fuse, Get Away. Til the Medicine Takes followed a year later. Another Joyous Occasion (2000) and Don't Tell the Band (2001) marked the band's first albums of the new millennium. In June 2002, Widespread Panic returned to the road for their annual summer tour of the States, but within a month, founding member and lead guitarist Michael Houser had to bow out. Houser was battling cancer and returned home to Athens, GA, to rest while guitarist George McConnell stepped in to finish the tour. On August 10, 2002, Houser succumbed to complications from pancreatic cancer at the age of 40.

Houser's wish was that the band would carry on after his passing, and with McConnell becoming a permanent replacement, Widespread Panic did just that. Their next full-length album, Ball was released in April of 2003. Night of Joy and Über Cobra, both of which appeared in late March 2004, featured live selections from two of the band's shows at The House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC, while they toured in support of Ball. It marked Widespread Panic's second and third live efforts, follow-ups up to 2000's Another Joyous Occasion. They returned to the studio later that year for the Halloween-themed covers record Jackassolantern and again in 2006 for Earth to America. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

There were many pseudo-hippie, jam-oriented blues rockers in New York during the early '90s, but only the Spin Doctors made it big. And they made it big because they not only could immerse themselves in a groove, but they also had concise pop skills. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes" were cleverly written singles, full of clean,... [+] Read More

There were many pseudo-hippie, jam-oriented blues rockers in New York during the early '90s, but only the Spin Doctors made it big. And they made it big because they not only could immerse themselves in a groove, but they also had concise pop skills. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes" were cleverly written singles, full of clean, blues-inflected licks and ingratiating pop melodies. Pocket Full of Kryptonite had been around for nearly a year when MTV and radio began playing "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," but once they started playing it, they couldn't stop. The Spin Doctors became an overnight sensation, selling millions of albums around the world.

Their second album, 1994's Turn It Upside Down, didn't sell very well when it was released, largely because the first single, "Cleopatra's Cat," was a failed experiment in funk. But the second single, "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast," was in the vein of "Two Princes," and the album began to sell after the song was released. In the summer of 1996, the Spin Doctors released You've Got to Believe in Something. After the album failed to make an impression on the charts, the Spin Doctors were dropped from Epic in the fall of 1996. After a couple of years, the group found a new label; their first record for Uptown/Universal, Here Comes the Bride, appeared in the summer of 1999. It was seemingly their swan song, however. By this point original members Eric Schenkman (guitar) and Mark White (bass) had left the band, and Barron's voice was failing him. The Spin Doctors broke up, and the greatest hits set Just Go Ahead Now appeared like a nail in their coffin. Their journey wasn't quite over, however. The band reunited for a series of shows in 2001 and 2002, and they used that momentum to head back into the studio, where they recorded Nice Talking to Me. The album was released by Ruff Nation/Universal in fall 2005. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

With their relaxed, slightly jazzy pop, the Samples were one of the most popular touring bands of the early '90s. After a bad experience with a major label, the band began releasing their own records independently, building support through a grassroots network of fans. Through constant touring, the Samples were able to keep building their... [+] Read More

With their relaxed, slightly jazzy pop, the Samples were one of the most popular touring bands of the early '90s. After a bad experience with a major label, the band began releasing their own records independently, building support through a grassroots network of fans. Through constant touring, the Samples were able to keep building their network of fans. They were also busy in the studio, recording three albums between 1992 and 1993. With none of their albums deviating from their folky, Sting-meets-the Grateful Dead pop, their albums -- which include 1994's Autopilot, 1996's Outpost, and 1997's Transmissions From the Sea of Tranquility live set -- are virtually indistinguishable from each other. However, none of them are bad; each record has a couple of first-rate songs, showing why they are concert favorites across the country. Here and Somewhere Else followed in 1998 and Sparta was issued in fall 2000.

Return to Earth appeared in 2001, and this studio effort included a guest spot from Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band on the track "Great Blue Ocean." The three-disc Anthology in Motion, Vol. 1 arrived in 2002, followed by 2003's Seventeen, a stripped-down live set performed before a thankful crowd at Connecticut's Quinnipiac College. The band returned to the studio for 2004's Black & White and 2005's Rehearsing for Life. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialize in was out of style. Only Guns N' Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson... [+] Read More

At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialize in was out of style. Only Guns N' Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson appropriated the sound and style of vintage Rod Stewart while guitarist Rich Robinson fused Keith Richards' lean attack with Ron Wood's messy rhythmic sense. At their best, the Black Crowes echo classic rock without slavishly imitating their influences.

The Robinson brothers originally formed the Black Crowes in Georgia in 1984. By the time of their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, the group comprised Chris Robinson (vocals), Rich Robinson (guitar), Johnny Colt (bass), Jeff Cease (guitar), and Steve Gorman (drums). "Jealous Again," the first single from Shake Your Money Maker, was a moderate hit but it was the band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" that made the group a multi-platinum success. "Hard to Handle" climbed its way into the Top 40, propelling the album into the Top Ten. The acoustic ballad "She Talks to Angels" became the band's second Top 40 hit in the spring of 1991. Shake Your Money Maker would eventually sell over three million copies.

The Black Crowes delivered their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, in the spring of 1992. It entered the charts at number one, but it didn't have as many hit singles as the debut; none of the singles cracked the Top 40 and only "Remedy" and "Thorn in My Pride" made the Top 100. Nevertheless, the band established themselves as a popular concert attraction that summer, selling out theaters across America. During 1992, the band added keyboardist Eddie Hersch as a permanent member. The Black Crowes' third album, Amorica, arrived in late 1994. Amorica debuted in the Top Ten, but none of the singles from the album made the charts; even though the record went gold, it slipped off the charts in early 1995.

Three Snakes & One Charm, the group's fourth album, was released in July of 1996. The album entered the charts at number 15, but it quickly slipped out of the Top 50. Nevertheless, the album received the best reviews of any Crowes album since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Guitarist Marc Ford was fired from the Black Crowes in August, 1997; two years later, the group returned with By Your Side. In mid-2000, the band collaborated with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on the double-disc Live at the Greek, an eclectic mix of newly recorded Zeppelin covers and additional classic blues cuts. A Tribute to a Work in Progress: Greatest Hits 1990-1999, a 16-track best-of compilation was also released in mid-2000. The Don Was-produced Lions appeared in spring 2001, and a summer tour with Oasis -- the Tour of Brotherly Love -- followed in June. But all was apparently not well with the group, in January of 2002 the band announced that they were on hiatus. Drummer Steve Gorman was fired from the band, and Chris Robinson announced his intentions for a solo career. . In 2005, however, the group got back together for a show at San Francisco's The Fillmore, a concert that was released in both CD and DVD form in 2006 as Freak 'N' Roll…Into the Fog. That same year, Lost Crowes, which contained two previously unreleased albums, 1993's Tall, parts of which were seen in Amorica and other places, and the 1997 never-before-heard Band, came out. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A New York-based blues-rock quartet formed in 1988 by singer/harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, and drummer Brendan Hill, Blues Traveler was part of a revival of the extended jamming style of '60s and '70s groups like the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin. Signed to A&M, they released their first album,... [+] Read More

A New York-based blues-rock quartet formed in 1988 by singer/harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, and drummer Brendan Hill, Blues Traveler was part of a revival of the extended jamming style of '60s and '70s groups like the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin. Signed to A&M, they released their first album, Blues Traveler, in May 1990 and followed it with Travelers & Thieves in September 1991. Popper was in a serious car accident in 1992, leaving him unable to perform for a number of months. Fortunately, he recovered, yet he still had to perform in a wheelchair for a period of time. In April 1993, Blues Traveler released its third album, Save His Soul, which became its first to make the Top 100. Blues Traveler's aptly named fourth album, Four, released in September 1994, at first looked like a sales disappointment, but it rebounded in 1995 when "Run-Around," a single taken from it, became the group's first chart hit. "Run-Around" became one of the biggest singles of 1995, spending nearly a full year on the charts and sending Four into quintuple platinum status.

As the group prepared the follow-up to Four, Blues Traveler released the live double-album Live From the Fall in the summer of 1996. The group returned in the summer of 1997 with its fifth studio album, Straight on Till Morning. After completing his 1999 debut solo effort Zygote, Popper -- who'd been experiencing chest pains for months -- was forced to undergo an angioplasty; weeks later, tragedy struck on August 20, 1999, when Sheehan was found dead in his New Orleans home. He was just 31 years old. The new millennium saw a newly charged Blues Traveler, and their sixth record, Bridge, appeared in May 2001. The next winter, Blues Traveler released the live What You and I Have Been Through. The studio record Truth Be Told followed in 2003, and another concert album, Live on the Rocks, appeared in 2004. The group returned to the studio in 2004, releasing the Jay Bennett-produced Bastardos in September of the following year. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide [-] Hide

After nearly a year of solid touring, the Spin Doctors scored a huge, unexpected success with the incessantly catchy "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." The rest of Pocket Full of Kryptonite will please fans of that song; the album is full of the loose, leisurely three-chord pop/rock jams the Spin Doctors specialize in. It may be unfair to compare... [+] Read More

After nearly a year of solid touring, the Spin Doctors scored a huge, unexpected success with the incessantly catchy "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." The rest of Pocket Full of Kryptonite will please fans of that song; the album is full of the loose, leisurely three-chord pop/rock jams the Spin Doctors specialize in. It may be unfair to compare them to the Grateful Dead, but the Doctors often suggest a lighter, more pop-oriented version of that band. While all of the best tracks were issued as singles ("Jimmy Olsen's Blues," "Two Princes," and "Little Miss"), there are still enough good moments on the rest of the album to please anyone who loves the hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

One of America's most talented (and mostly unknown) bands of the '90s, the Samples made a giant leap on this release. Their first all-studio album with three new bandmates is simply astounding. The quintet sounds like they've been playing together for a decade, laying down driving pop songs, with occasional reggae rhythms. The music is tight,... [+] Read More

One of America's most talented (and mostly unknown) bands of the '90s, the Samples made a giant leap on this release. Their first all-studio album with three new bandmates is simply astounding. The quintet sounds like they've been playing together for a decade, laying down driving pop songs, with occasional reggae rhythms. The music is tight, the production crisp, and Sean Kelly's memorable voice (somewhere between Bruce Hornsby and Neil Young), leads the way. Kelly's lyrics rely on cliché more than usual but that's entirely forgivable, because it is the music and the melodies that one will remember from this album. If you don't own a Samples album yet, it's not too late to redeem yourself. This is a good place to start. ~ Steve McMullen, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Opening with a second-line drum roll, Moe fires into some "Frankenstein" grunge in a song which is indeed "Stranger Than Fiction." Turning up the tempo, the boys seizure through the pizzica-lypso verses of "Spaz Medicine" before smoothing into the Hall & Oates soul vibe of "Nebraska" (which features a scatty solo by guitarist Al Schnier). "Head"... [+] Read More

Opening with a second-line drum roll, Moe fires into some "Frankenstein" grunge in a song which is indeed "Stranger Than Fiction." Turning up the tempo, the boys seizure through the pizzica-lypso verses of "Spaz Medicine" before smoothing into the Hall & Oates soul vibe of "Nebraska" (which features a scatty solo by guitarist Al Schnier). "Head" is an appropriately cerebral R.E.M. drifter with a twangy down-home chorus, some clangy guitar, and a steady Zappa/Phish guitar jam break. Such are the elements Moe is known for, and on Car Tires they are able to roll in their own vein while obeying the rules of the recording road. "Hi & Lo" is a bouncy ditty reminiscent of the Beatles, strolling down Abbey Road to a closing which bubbles up from the Yellow Submarine. The longest and most jam-a-licious track on the album, "Plane Crash" compacts an entire bandwidth into one song. Opening with classical strings, the song pauses before creeping through an "I Want You" guitar line to a fully-keyed brass crasher. Next, it's off to the local college station for some world rhythms and amateur vocals. The chorus is rootsy-rock with a blue tag line which most alternative stations would bleep. Then static settles in, as the classical station mixes briefly with the rock setting. As Rob Derhak mentions "the network news," the Lesley spins like the radio dial itself as the various sounds meld in ever faster and more layered possibilities. "Letter Home" offers some country relief from the musical mayhem, but the album gets a bit funky with the hard to decipher evolution of "Big World." "Again & Again" dips back into the easy roots feel, which is much the motif on Tin Cans, but breaks it up with a sudden chorus tempo charge. "It" was such a labor of love (or was it hate?) for the band, that they took the album title (but not much else) from it. "Happy Hour Hero" steps on Little Feat to get itself heard, arpeggiating into the closing cinematic vignette "Queen of the Rodeo," a clunky honky-tonker which confesses the band's deepest realities. ~ Matthew Robinson, All Music Guide [-] Hide

If you like your alt country a bit heavy on the alternative side, with light classic rock touches, then look no further than Train's debut disc. Fronted impressively by vocalist/songwriter Patrick Monahan and supported by strong, guitar-driven pop melodies, this is easy listening rock with crafty edges and unforgettable tunes. "Eggplant," "I... [+] Read More

If you like your alt country a bit heavy on the alternative side, with light classic rock touches, then look no further than Train's debut disc. Fronted impressively by vocalist/songwriter Patrick Monahan and supported by strong, guitar-driven pop melodies, this is easy listening rock with crafty edges and unforgettable tunes. "Eggplant," "I Am," "Free," and "Meet Virginia" crackle with inspired hooks and reflective lyrics. Train's music is direct and basic. All around, Train is a total package of good music with smart songcraft. ~ Roxanne Blanford, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Before they went electric and funky, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood were acoustic and funky -- and a lot of other things -- on this exciting early CD. They ruminate like a conventional jazz piano trio when the whim hits them, or move outside when Medeski explodes into Don Pullen-esque clusters. Their metier, though, was clearly the... [+] Read More

Before they went electric and funky, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood were acoustic and funky -- and a lot of other things -- on this exciting early CD. They ruminate like a conventional jazz piano trio when the whim hits them, or move outside when Medeski explodes into Don Pullen-esque clusters. Their metier, though, was clearly the neo-funk thing, for when Martin pulls off those crackling hip-hop and M-Base-related beats on tracks like "Uncle Chubbs" and "Orbits," the band really achieves liftoff. "Caravan" gets a rolling New Orleans funk treatment, and the finale "Querencia" is a lengthy excursion into dense avant-garde underbrush with a touch of the street in the beat. On several tracks, a three-brass, two reeds horn section add an extra level of excitement, and the trio tracks are recorded live to DAT (hence the exceptionally crisp sound). ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide