The Bottom Line: Great beats, emotion, and musical talents combine to create a truly interesting and innovative album. Blues Traveler is unlike anything you've ever heard.
Larger than life used to be an appropriate description of Blues Traveler. Today, they are still a great band, but lead singer and multitalented musician John Popper is half the man he was only a few years ago.
Ohio born and New Jersey bred John Popper and his high school buddy Brendan Hill joined forces in 1988. After a few years, two more members were added to the lineup. Chan Kinchla and Bobby Sheehan completed the band. The four would work for years to rise to the top of the music industry, stumbling on some hurdles along the way. They toured the New York club scene billed as Blues Band.
The band had a very different sound. Sure, it was straight blues with hints of rock and roll. That’s nothing special. But, Popper’s uncanny ability to meld his harmonica into what seems to be a strange blend of rock and roll. They released their self-titled major label debut in 1990. Blues Traveler featured the infectious single ”But Anyway” and the album was regarded as a critical success. Commercial success was only a few years in the future. 1991’s Travelers and Theives followed, but was unable to garner as much attention as the band’s earlier attempt.
Blues Traveler helped to launch the folk-punk-blues-alternative mega traveling H.O.R.D.E tour in 1992 with the help of bands like longtime friends Spin Doctors, Phish, and Widespread Panic. With the Spin Doctors finally getting attention on the radio and MTV in 1993, the Blues Travelers released their first modest album hit. Save His Soul may have been a hit in some areas, but with the success of their peers it appeared that the band was losing hold of what had once been a relatively large fan base.
Then came Four. It would come to be known as the album that changed the lives of each of the four Blues Travelers. From the moment that the listener-friendly ”Run-Around” hit the airways, all hell broke loose. The single rested atop the charts for almost a year and the album went five times platinum. In addition, that single earned the band their first Grammy. Blues Traveler was on the fast track to fame. From that same album, ”Hook” also was well-received. As a whole, the album was regarded as the band’s best since their debut.
Blues Travelers released their live followup Live From the Fall and the studio album Straight On Till Morning. Both albums were met with open arms, and each sold over a million copies. Despite all of the good things going on in the lives of the quartet, they suffered with addiction. Popper was addicted to food causing him to be morbidly obese. Bobby Sheehan on the other hand had a drug addiction. 1999 was marked with Sheehan’s death and Popper’s heart attack. Popper would later go on to lose a huge amount of weight. He seems like a new man. Rejuvenated and young.
Four is obviously the band’s most popular album. Released by A&M records, it catapulted the bar band to heights that they never thought possible. Thanks to great talent and a wry sense of humor, Popper and company was allotted the critical and commercial attention that they so deserved. Four has twelve songs. Most are very, very good although some critics accused the band of selling their souls to the music executives. Stick around to see why.
”Run-Around” became popular for good reason. Of course, for viewer of MTV, the video was also a draw (relying on Wizard of Oz images). Anyway, this song is a perfect first track on the album. A beautifully executed acoustic guitar and Popper’s famous singing harmonica introduce the song with gentle grace. Popper then begins to warble along to the music. Upbeat, bright, and wonderfully creative, this track was a worthy hit (unlike many songs from the same year). Adding various other instruments throughout the song including a piano makes this a multi-layered track. The song has the tendency to cheer dour little me up even on the bleakest days. Don’t miss out on this one…hey you probably already know it well.
Also released as a single was ”Hook”. With a moderate tempo and all the elements that make the Blues Traveler’s songs great, it proves a great track. It’s softer than some of the other offerings on this album. Despite that difference, the melody, lyrics, instruments, and Popper’s impressive voice and emotional evocation all blend wonderfully. Situated toward the end of this album, listeners will want to stick around.
I like the bluesy-folk rock of ”The Mountains Wins Again” written by Sheehan. It’s actually quite a beautiful song incorporating the band’s lovely acoustic guitars and harmonica into a perfect track. Did I just say perfect? Yes, and I mean it. Popper sounds absolutely wonderful, his voice has such wonderful inflection…something that is severely lacking in a lot of today’s cookie cutter music. The best part of the song is the lovely chorus marked by the words:
Ooh can you feel the same
Ooh ya gotta love the pain
Ooh it looks like rain again
Yeah feel it comin' in
The mountains win again
Funky and free, ”Stand” is a no holds barred song. Lacking much of Popper’s normal musical talents, the track proves to be harder and more classically bluesy than many of the other songs. It’s got a great electric guitar riff and a truly fun and interesting vocal track. Of course, I don’t enjoy it as much as some of the other songs, but it’s a welcome relief from all the band’s other heavily harmonica-injected tracks. The album wouldn’t be worth owning if every single song sounded the same.
”Look Around” is soft and comforting from the beginning. Relying on a simple piano and acoustic guitar, the track is a tender exercise in control. Popper’s vocals are brilliant, his sound is very much unlike any other vocalist I’ve ever heard. He has an innate ability to warble in such a way that the listeners are drawn into the lyrics and the song. He is so emotional and so talented. This song, written by Popper himself is a perfect example of why Blues Traveler deserve so much attention.
Loud and driving, ”Fallible” proves to be a blues-rock near masterpiece. It’s got heavy electric guitars and louder drums than many of the other songs on the album. I do prefer the band’s softer side, but this song still proves to be good. I’m just not quite as drawn to the music and emotion of this song as I am with some of the others.
”Freedom” is loud and unrelenting much like ”Fallible”. It’s got even heavier guitars and a very angry sounding Popper. The song is about selfishness, consumer societies, and rebellion. I’m not convinced that the band actually believes in what they’re talking about. The song isn’t as good as some of the others, but it’s still not even close to average.
Popper’s harmonica is the main focus of the intro to ”Crash Burn”. The song is fast and furious, relying on a mixture of grinding guitars, pounding drums, and that very melodic yet wonderfully executed harmonica. The song could prove to be annoying to people that don’t enjoy the sound of Popper’s instrument of choice, but to music lovers who can appreciate every instrument for what it’s worth, this is a great track. Hey, I like it. What more do you want?
The eighth track written by Kinchla and Popper, is controlled and somber. ”Price To Pay” is a strange combination of a ballad and blues. The song proves to be a decent listen, although if you are new to the band I would suggest listening to another track before this one to get a handle on the artists. This just doesn’t seem consistent or representative of the Blues Travelers.
Regardless of how good an instrumental track is, I always yearn for vocals. I like for there to be words of some kind contained in a song. Therefore, I can’t easily review ”The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” for the likely great blues it really is. If you like the genre, you’ll probably enjoy this track.
”Just Wait” is one of Popper’s slow and steady masterpieces. I actually prefer the songs written totally by him. He seems to have a great amount of depth in his feelings and writing. This track is about hope, love, and the future. It creates a great feeling of empathy for Popper. The track picks up two or so minutes along, adding a piano to the mix. However you pick apart this song, it proves to be wonderful. Popper is just a great singer.
”Brother John” is good ol’ fashioned blues. I’m not much of a fan of pure blues, but with the rock influence this song proves to be at least listenable. The lyrics are trite and repetitive. I’m not quite sure why they chose to include this song on the album. It could have easy been removed. That would’ve made me happy. Average track.
This really is a great album despite the two moderately good tracks and the crummy one. There is a good reason why Blues Traveler spent the past decade as one of the most notable, yet undiscovered live acts around. This, their aptly titled fourth album is great. It’s classic bluesy rock, folky funk should please many different listeners with many different musical likes.
I give this album 4.5 out of 5 stars and will round up for the purposes of rating on this site. As I said, there are some songs I don’t really like as much as others. But, the songs written by Popper are simply amazing. They are must-listen classics. I recommend this album to all listeners. Blues Traveler is creative, amazing, and very easy to appreciate.
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