Forced profundities and even more forced vocals seriously mar
Edge City's
Mystery Ride. It's not so much that songwriter and primary vocalist Jim Patton's voice can't handle the strain -- that's fine -- but his sheer overemphasis swiftly removes any subtleties that might have been lying in his tales-of-the-common-man lyrics and, ultimately, he comes off as a poor man's
Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Patton's lyrics occasionally tap into something interesting, which is usually side-swiped by how proud Patton seems for having written the lyric. The one place where the style works -- on "Outsider" -- is the exception that proves the rule. Mostly, though, the band relies on cliché punnery such as "Prisoner of the Blues." Particularly offensive is the band's hyperspeed take on
Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," in which Patton half raps the song's lyrics in a manner not unlike
Mickey Hart's post-Grateful Dead renditions of "Fire on the Mountain." The version is capped by tasteless echo vocals by Sherry Brokus. Musically, the band is competent enough, fronted by former John Mellencamp guitarist
David Grissom, but it's not enough to save the album. ~ Jesse Jarnow