Yale Daily News

thanks for the review, but i must take offense at the first sentence. jane's additcion released "nothing's shocking" in 1988 and was recognized by rolling stone as "the true heir to Led Zeppelin." nirvana's equally strong (and far more commercially accessable -- kids certainly had an easier time dressing like kurt than perry) major label debut "nevermind" was not released until 1991 -- by which time JA had already splashed all over MTV with "been caught stealing", perry ferrell had created the lollapoolza tour with JA headlining (i was there), and the band had all but broken up. i know most of this probably took place before you were born, but that's not reason enough to not get it right. anyway, thanks again for the review.

The review seems well thought out but misses the mark, particularly on the "lack of originality" statements. Are you saying that "For My Friends" is not original compared with other music being released today because clearly it is. Or, are you saying that it is not original because they sound like Blind Melon because I believe Blind Melon is allowed to sound like Blind Melon.

Make no mistake, there is only one Shannon Hoon and he is not easily replaced and I too have accused the Blind Melon gang of trying to make Travis Warren be Shannon Hoon however I believe that this album needs to be judged on it's own merits and as such I walked into it somewhat skeptical but was pleasantly surprised by the recording.

I believe that the album holds the Blind Melon roots but is distinctively different in the spots that it needs to be to be new and fresh. The songs flow from beginning to end and do not drone as is suggested. True, there are a few songs that I don't care for and it is also true that Warren has a different, somewhat more edgier, raspier style but your review both condemns him for being different and condemns the band for not being different enough, which I find wholly peculiar.

What Travis Warren is doing is brave and what the remaining members of Blind Melon are doing is their musical right. There is no "No Rain" on this album. There wasn't one on BM's second album "Soup" either. That's not what this band has ever been about.

elaborating on commenter #1, i'd have to guess that college aged reviewers like chris would rather be given the task of reviewing an artist that is more representative of their generation. chris was probably four when blind melon's short career began and eight when it ended.

while somebody in their mid thirties is tightly connected with specifics of the 90's rock era, somebody in their mid twenties likely only has a capsulized understanding of the bands, timelines, "and so on". as a thirty-something myself, i simply don't expect anymore from a writer this age.. sorry chris.

with that said, it appears he actually listened through the album a couple of times before writing his review. better than most out there.