Just when it seemed safe to put away the one-hitters and trim the sideburns, along comes this jam band supergroup:
Blues Traveler frontman
John Popper, journeymen jammers
Jimmy Herring and Kofi Burbridge, and more than half of the most recent (at the time) incarnation of
the Allman Brothers Band (Butch Trucks, his nephew Derek, percussionist Marc Quiñones, and bassist Oteil Burbridge). The resulting album, a live set captured before an appreciative crowd, kicks off with a 14-minute instrumental called "Kick N Bach," letting listeners know that this band's really serious about their chops, in a really humorous sort of way. Too bad the joke is on the band. None of
Croakin at Toad's' eight songs is anything more than an excuse for extended, indulgent soloing. Imagine a
Santana rehearsal from the early '70s with a stoned
Toots Thielemans sitting in on harp. Oh, this project might have been a fun distraction for the participants, but for many fans it will be merely distracting. Maybe you had to be there, like back in the '70s. ~ Brian Beatty