Here Comes the Bride

And you have fun! Excellent one of a kind recording when Ivan Neville joined the band! Richer sound, full bodied music that makes you smile.

I was trying to see where they switched over to a blues format. This wasn't it!

This album really helped to destroy the Spin Doctors. There had already been some tensions between the rest of the band and their guitarists, but this album help to split Mark White from Aaron and Chris. As a result, this album is more like a cross between a solo album for Chris, a solo album for Aaron, and a Spin Doctors album. They brought in a keyboard player,The styles covered on this album vary more than usual. There are some awkward rhythms, unexpected breaks, and fairly bizarre stuff on this one.The good news is that some of it is still really pretty fun. In fact, the only songs I really don't care for are Key to the Kingdom, and Dodging Assassins. But most of the songs require some more time to get used to.The highlights are probably Wow, and Tomorrow Can Pay the Rent. Wow is a two-chord groove, and it's probably the most simple song the band ever recorded. Tomorrow Can Pay the Rent is a Chris solo track, and it's a very nice song. Fisherman's Delight was one of my favorites, but it's bothered me a little more over time. It seems a little too long.The standout performance track would be Diamond. Mark White still played bass on this track, and he takes a middle of the road song and brings the funk. Solid work.There's also a reversed hidden track at the end of the album. It's a recording of Let's Try Again, one of Chris Barron's beautiful solo songs. In this case, the song gets a bigger band treatment, and has a wonderful shine to it.This album isn't for everybody, but it comes across more like a collection of B-sides and solo projects. For that, it's an excellent collection. For a band album, it's disjointed, and it seems a little sad. You wind up wishing that they would have gotten along better, and smoothed these songs out as a band.

Okay, let's get something straight right from the beginning. This album is not anything like their previous ones. It is nothing like Pocket Full of Kryptonite. Just get over it, and listen to Here Comes the Bride with an open mind and the understanding that it may take some getting used to. If you can do that, then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.I myself first approached this album with great skepticism, but the new sound quickly grew on me. The highlights of this album are Vampires in the Sun, Gorilla Boy, Siren Dress, Diamond, the Man, and Tomorrow Can Pay the Rent (a real gem). The most obvious change is that some of the songs have a strong reggae flavor to them, but fortunately the Doctors pull it off quite well. Ivan Neville's keyboards also bring a whole new dimension to the band, and Chris Barron's singing style often diverges from their earlier material as well. Another marked change is that some of the songs seem to have a lot more soul to them. Fortunately, they haven't lost the funk, as Gorilla Boy is evidence of. A couple of tracks---Dodging Assassins and Waiting for the Blow---are bit difficult to get used to, but I'm beginning to like them as well.Here is a band that is definitely not afraid to try something new. The Spin Doctors are ARTISTS, not some lame, sell-out group that just spits out more of the same soulless, poor-quality hooks that dominate the radio these days. Artists have can't stay the same forever, especially when they've been through as much turmoil as this band has. They have to change, to grow, to evolve. Look at REM. Here Comes the Bride is a refreshing blast of fresh air amid the stagnant smog which is most of today's popular music. Give this album a fair chance, and you'll like what you hear.

Sadly, Here Comes the Bride has been overlooked by the vast majority of listeners, and that is quite a shame, because this is a wonderful album. After their meteoric rise and equally swift fall from the limelight, the Spin Doctors remain a superb band, a bastion of top-notch music among the corporate-product boy / girl groups and the pop-punk band adolescent songs that have come to dominate the American music scene. A word of warning: if you are hung up on Pocketful Of Kryptonite, this may not be an album for you --- it is different for them, and somewhat experimental. But if you are willing to give this album a fair chance, you will be most pleasantly surprised. The title song starts off the album. HTCB is really not much of a song, but don't let it turn you off from the rest of the album. Actually, it has a good, funky sound too it, it's just the lyrics aren't worthy of note. Still, it is infectious. and it kind of grows on you. The 2nd song, Vampires In The Sun, is one of the albums real treats (great lyrics and singing it has kind of a reggae feel to it). Waiting For The Blow has somewhat of a punk sound to it, yet Chris Barron's lyrics still give it that Spin Doctors feel. The Man is a sort of semi-rap song, and isn't for everyone, but if you don't like the Man or working for him (and most of us don't), it has an appeal. Gone Mad is a bit weak, but the next song, Wow, is a reggae-influenced gem and a very fun song, as is Siren Dress. Gorilla Boy is extremely goofy but extremely fun, with a very funky groove that makes it hard to sit still. Fisherman's delight, another reggae-influenced song, is very strong lyrics, sound, singing, you name it, and the horns really add a lot to it. The Bigger I Laugh, the Harder I Cry is a pop song that with a west coast guitar sound. It was the single from the album, and although it is not what one would call a strong song, but its sound is so good that it is thoroughly enjoyable. Dodging Assassins is an electronic, experimental song with allusions the Wizard of Oz, of all things. It takes a little getting used to, but is very good once you do. Diamond is the closest thing to the old-style Spin Doctors songs on here. It has that familiar funk-rock-blues feel, and yet it is different. It is a really beautiful song too. Tomorrow Can Pay the Rent is just Chris Barron singing and playing the guitar while the drummer backs him up a little (it is like some of his solo stuff, which, btw, I highly recommend), but it is another of the albums most enjoyable songs. Now I'm sure you are wondering if an album this diverse can actually be good, but believe me, the Spin Doctors pull it off. Chris Barron's generally upbeat, hippie self shines through as usual. Ivan Neville, the new keyboard player (yes, he's one of THE Nevilles), really added a lot to this album, as did the horns that were used in some of the songs. This album is so different from the earlier stuff, and it was a really bold move on their part to release it. More importantly, it sounds GREAT, and it proves that in spite of all their losses and all the hell and changes they have been through, these guys still have it. So if you appreciate quality music and don't mind trying something a bit different, give this album a chance. It is money well spent.

The Spin Doctors ONE OF THE FEW 90'S FUNK ROCK BAND