Travelogue: Blues Traveler Classics in Bloomington, MN

With the release of
Travelogue: Blues Traveler Classics
,
Blues Traveler
completes its major-label trajectory. Signed to
A&M Records
in 1990, the group achieved modest but increasing sales with its first three albums,
Travelers & Thieves
, and
Save His Soul
, then hit the big time with the six-times-platinum
Four
and its Top Ten single
"Run-Around."
A concert album,
Live from the Fall
, and a studio follow-up,
Straight on Till Morning
, each went platinum, but then the group took a four year break. When
returned to action in 2001 with
Bridge
, the disappointing sales led to a parting of ways with
A&M
. And here, as sure as death and taxes, is the "greatest hits" album.
didn't really have many hits in the conventional sense; in addition to
"Run-Around,"
only
"Hook"
made the Top 40, while the band achieved significant airplay with
"Conquer Me,"
a live version of
"But Anyway"
(the studio version is included here),
"Carolina Blues,"
and
"Most Precarious"
(the most notable omission here). Compilation producer
Mike Ragogna
fills up the nearly 80-minute running time with such album tracks as
"Mountain Cry,"
on which
Popper
duets with
Gregg Allman
"The Mountains Win Again,"
which features slide guitar work from
Warren Haynes
. The only rarity is the non-LP B-side
"Regarding Steven."
fans may miss personal favorites, but this is a good one-disc summation of the band's
catalog. ~ William Ruhlmann