Truth Be Told

The book on the latest Blues Traveler album is that someone has finally reined in frontman John Popper’s worst harp-squealing tendencies. To a certain extent, this is true. Entire songs breeze by with only the mildest peeps from his harmonica. Without it, it’s easy to see the band’s underappreciated strengths—a seemingly endless supply of engaging guitar melodies and Popper’s soulful vocals—stirring in these otherwise ordinary, blues-based songs. Unfortunately, when Popper does pull the harp out and blow, he still really blows. Tracks like “Can’t See Why” and “Eventually” are infected with the same multi-noted caterwauling that’s long made him the Stevie Vai of the harmonica—at best, it’s a distraction; at worst, it simply sucks the soul from these tunes. When producer Don Gehman does manage to bury Popper’s blustery playing under a mountain of rootsy pop sounds, Blues Traveler come up with the album’s best track, “Unable to Get Free.” We can only hope they think so, too.