I'm going to try and not mention Shannon Hoon in this review.........ok, I'm not. It's impossible. Let's just say that the original members of the band have found the perfect replacement to Hoon if what they were after was someone that sounds so similar, that at times he sounds identical. Travis Warren was a Melon fan before joining the band and it shows with some obvious emotion creeping through during his singing and lyrics that Shannon would have been proud of.
The album itself is joy to listen to. I was so worried that this would be a complete anti-climax after such a long lay-off for the band. I was also worried that Hoon's absence from the song writing would damage the quality of it also, but that's not the case. What we have here is the perfect follow up to Blind Melon's debut album. For me, Soup took a huge swerve in another direction when I really wanted to hear more of the same after the first album. The band have maintained the sound and emotions that the first album conveyed, but have added a maturity to that, while Travis stamps his own authority over it.
There's a multitude of instruments to be heard amongst the depths of the songs, the lyrics are simple, catchy, but intelligent, the production is first class, but the high standard of the songs is what is pleasing the most. It's safe to say that there isn't a poor track amongst the 13. If you're looking for highlights it would be difficult to look past With The Right Set of Eyes, Wishing Well, Sometimes, Tumblin Down, Father Time & Cheetum Street........but some folk could argue the rest! If you're a fan, buy it. You'll be glad you did! If you liked the first album in particular, buy it! If you like rock with a singer/songwriter, southern feel to it, buy it.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was because that would rank it up there with the debut and for me, that's reserved for true classics.