Pocket Full of Kryptonite - Spin Doctors (CD 1991)

I was going to do this review anyway, but when I read the other review on this record, I knew I had to present an alternate viewpoint. This album has much more than the hits you may already know. This record does not sound like any of the Seattle bands, musically or lyrically. A bit of history is always good to start a review. Come with me now to the thrilling days of yesteryear, when the letter e was not put before so many words (e-business, etc)and the alternative scene was in its infancy. I first heard this album in early 1992. I was living in Oregon and had a freebie coming from my local radio station. I was given a stack to choose from, I asked what this Spin Doctors disc was. The guy told me it was a reggae band. I found that was not the case and from the first listen I knew I was hooked. Compared to the plodding music of that time, this record was a breath of fresh air. More on the history
later, let s look at the songs.

Jimmy Olsen s Blues is the source for the album s title. It goes to show you that new song on the radio Kryptonite is not exactly an original idea, though it is from a different perspective I can t believe my dilemma is real, I m competing with the man of steel . This is a song you may have heard on the radio. Uptempo funky rock, with an undeniable hook.

What Time Is It? pushes the funk to another level. Heavy on the jamming,stuttering rhythm gets your blood pumping. Use a little english to doctor the spin .

Little Miss Can t Be Wrong can still be heard on the radio pretty regularly. This song is about the lead singer Chris Barron s stepmother, a conflict that I have had some similar experience with. Ain t nobody gonna bow no more when you sound your gong . Excellent guitar leads and an impossibly catchy hook made this one a monster hit.

Forty or Fifty is a strange little song with lyrics that must be an inside joke. Slows the pace down with some mellow guitar work.

The Spin Doctors personnel:
Chris Barron--lead vocals
Eric Schenkman--guitars
Mark White--bass
Aaron Comess--drums

Refrigerator Car is my favorite on this record. The smooth drumming of Comess brings you in to a tune that picks the pace back up. Excellent slapping bass sound. Though snakes might fry outside, flowers crumble petrified in your hand is just one of a slew of clever wordplays here.

More Than She Knows while featuring great guitar by Schenkman, and blistering harmonica by band-friend and Blues Traveler frontman John Popper, doesn t really go anywhere.

Two Princes
Another great pop hook about loving someone from the wrong side of the tracks. Ain t got no future or family tree, but I know what a prince and lover ought to be . Excellent guitar soloing once again.

Off My Line features Schenkman on vocals. Not much to say about the lyrics but the melody is very pleasing and has more great harmonica from Popper. Rubber-band funky.

How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?) is a slower-starting pop tune which builds to a nice uptempo pace, though not as bassy as many of the others. Chock full of literate gems. He doesn t
dangle by the seraphim, he only wants a pretty face by him . Ferocious angels send me falling stars/ but I know just how dangerous wishes are/ ferocious angels watch me come and go/ but I m too smart to go barging off
rooftops though. Great stuff. Repeats the title a bit too much at the end.

Shinbone Alley/ Hard to Exist could also be called Excuse to Jam . More stories of New York City. Streets are metacarpal, flesh of asphalt calm/ buildings rise like fingers from a concrete palm. Great slapping bass sound sets the pace.

I saw this band in 1992 and have been a great fan of theirs ever since. The follow-up to this one Turn It Upside Down did not produce the big singles. The release of Cleopatra s Cat as the first single was a fatal mistake. I will likely review that one at some point, it is also is very worthwhile. Schenkman left after Woodstock 94 and
the band has not been the same since. Opening for the Stones was not the best idea either.

This disc will take you back to the bygone days of 1992 when the Spins were the next big thing. This album still holds up well. The lyrics are brilliant, the band is tight and the guitar searing. You will get a great band on the rise when you buy this one.