Don’t spill the bong water. One has to be careful while dancing in a Woodstock-like manner to the incredibly pleasant and surprising For My Friends, the new record by the formerly disbanded Blind Melon. It didn’t seem likely that after the death of lead singer Shannon Hoon to an overdose, that the Melon had any more shelf life. The loss of their comrade and friend left the band rudderless and they decided to go their separate ways. This is their first studio release since 1995’s Soup. It is an excellent blend of laid back mood pieces that evoke smoke rings and late night pizza like the wonderfully subtle title track and “Sometimes,” while containing enough muscle to move the mood up a couple notches like “Wishing Well” and “So High.” None of these songs is going to get a speeding ticket but the album offers enough variety to be an excellent 50-minute listen. No one quite sounded like Shannon Hoon, but Travis Warren sure has a similar delivery. He will be able to pull off all the Hoon tracks live while not sounding like just a clone voice. The album is spectacularly produced and mixed by bassist Brad Smith and guitarist Christopher Thorn (and Blind Melon as credited in the album notes.) They layer a lot of the vocals (which serves the uniqueness of Warren’s voice well) while the mix of guitar (both electric and acoustic) and occasional Wurlitzer piano is fabulous accenting each when necessary. There may not be a career defining track like “No Rain” on the record, but this is a consistently hummable piece of work. (Rocket Science)
