Blues Explosion

Jon Spencer and the boys bring in all sorts of collaborators for their new CD--from chanteuse Martina Topley-Bird to Chuck D, producer madman Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow. But no matter how good these guest artists are, the presence of so many strangers makes the album go flat. Too many directions, too little soul. I'd hoped for more blues and, well, the occasional explosion. But Damage has neither, save for the first two tracks and the instrumental "Rivals." I immediately removed it from the player, found my copy of Orange and played "Bellbottoms" three times in a row to remove the sour taste of disappointment from my mouth.