After breaking up for a while funky jam band hit makers Spin Doctors are back with a new album, and it's a hot one. It captures the sound that made them famous, but also shows a band that has grown and matured from the time away. Now, I have to admit, all I ever heard from these guys before now were the radio songs, but this disc seems a bit harder edged than that. Either they always had that sound in their repertoire or time has given them a new sense of crunch. In fact, some of this material reminds me quite a bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers, but really that's not too much of a stretch from where Spin Doctors were to begin with. It's interesting listening to the disc to hear some of the sounds we've come to associate with newer bands (Bare Naked Ladies comes to mind), but it really seems likely that these guys influenced a lot of those acts. This is definitely a fine return for the group.

This also includes a DVD which is composed of a short documentary "featurette" and video of five live tracks. The documentary includes interviews about the reunion of the band. It covers how the band came about getting back together and the making of the new album. The live video includes four tracks from the new disc along with one Spin Doctors classic. It's certain that long time fans of the band will eat this up. It also might be a good place for someone to start to learn about this killer outfit. Let's hope they stay around.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.