Steel Wheels

, or more accurately the relationship between and , imploded shortly after , resulting in delivering a nearly unbearably mannered, ambitious solo effort that stiffed and knocking out the greatest album since , something that satisfied the cult but wasn't a hit. Clearly, they were worth more together than they were apart, so it was time for the reunion, and that's what is -- a self-styled reunion album. It often feels as if they sat down and decided exactly what their audience wanted from a album, and they deliver a record that gives the people what they want, whether it's -styled rockers, in the vein of even a touch of old-fashioned experimentalism with Being professionals, in the business for over two and a half decades, and being a band that always favored calculation, they wear all this well, even if this lacks the vigor and menace that fuels the best singles; after all, the rocking singles ( ) wind up being smoked by such throwaways as Even though it's just 12 songs, the record feels a little long, largely due to its lack of surprises and unabashed calculation (the jams are slicked up so much they don't have the visceral power of the jam record, ). Still, sound good, and both get off a killer apiece with respectively. It doesn't make for a great album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback -- which it was supposed to, after all. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine