There's nothing really wrong with this record. Which may be why, in the end, it fails to deliver. The group sounds exactlylike who they are, a group of studio musicians, in this case the house band for Paula/Jewel. They make no mistakes, they lay down a hard, funky groove, but in the end, they simply underline the difference between those who are players and those who are artists. When you take the safe route and the steady paycheck, you give up something else, a crackle, a force, a burning belief and a desperate gladness at the chance to finally get your music over. These guys are fat. And happy. And that comes out the speakers. This isn't bad. Those mining for beats will find some here. But if asked why this is different, the answer must be that it simply isn't.