From the opening strains of’?Safe In the Arms of Love,’ it’s clear that the first soloalbum from Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson is going to be a good one.Premature to say that after just one song? Possibly, but continuing through thealbum’s 12 tracks it becomes clear that this is Robinson’s mostclear, cohesive and inspired work since the Black Crowes’ 1996 album ThreeSnakes and One Charm.

That is perhaps what makes thealbum such a pleaser’it harkens back to that era of the Black Crowes,hops back on that track of development and builds upon it. The Black Crowesinexplicably jumped ship with 1999’s By Your Side, but Robinson has come running back full-steam toembrace it once again. And that’s good news.

The charismatic and soulful singertakes those jangly, acoustic-based vibes of yesteryear and adds some elementsthat might have otherwise been a no-no within the confines of the later BlackCrowes.

Admittedly, the album does losemomentum for brief moments here and there, but it doesn’t detract fromthe enjoyment of it. Besides, for every ‘?Better Than the Sun’misfire, there’s twenty ‘?Silver Car’ or ‘?Barefoot bythe Cherry Tree’ moments of brilliance to effectively overshadow. Andthat’s what makes this album so refreshing. It never fails to surpriseyou with its subtle genius.

The bottom line with this record isthat it will never be a chart-topper, it will never produce a hit and it willprobably disappear soon (Redline Entertainment, the album’s distributor,just went under). But it’s better than just about anything that’spassing for Grammy-worthy these days. What more could you ask for? CD -$15.99

For samples ofthis album, visit: http://www.ian-rice.com/

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REWIND:

The Police – Regatta de Blanc (A&M Records, 1979)

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Mostlikely in honor of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, theentire catalog of The Police has been re-mastered and re-issued. The best ofthese five classic rehashings is the group’s sophomore release, Regattade Blanc. Featuring hits like’?Message in a Bottle’ and great album tracks like ‘?Bring onthe Night,’ this album, if nothing else, will make you really mad thatSting broke up the Police to do mood music. The only drawback: No bonus tracksor booklet to speak of. Still, the sonic reparations more than make it worththe purchase price. CD – $11.99