Toad the Wet Sprocket - _Dulcinea_ (Columbia)

	College favorites Toad the Wet Sprocket have 
returned to the forefront of alternative radio with their fourth 
album, _Dulcinea_. 
	Lead single "Fall Down", which recently pushed its 
way to the top of Billboard's Modern Rock charts, is atypical 
from anything Toad have heretofore performed.  This straightforward 
rock song hides a deeper lyrical content; the story of someone that 
fails to step in and help a friend whose life is falling apart.  As is the 
story on previous releases, such as the platinum album _Fear_, Toad 
combine a serious message with a positive sound.
	Strangely enough, however, the music on the rest of the 
album is much more stripped down.  Two standout tracks, "Fly From 
Heaven" and "Woodburning", feature a kindler, gentler Toad that is 
one step away from pop smashes without giving in to the mainstream 
success they had with "All I Want".  Why didn't they just duplicate 
that album's format?
	Lead singer Glen Phillips explains.  "For us, there was 
something missing on our last album that I think we've captured 
with _Dulcinea_.  _Fear_ was very manicured; our first experience 
in a studio with the luxury of time, so we experimented with 
over-dubs and the like.  As a result, we lost some of that "band" 
feel.  We missed that."
	Most of _Dulcinea_ sounds like an alternative Simon and 
Garfunkel for the 90s; laid-back, almost acoustic music with a 
deeper meaning about life and death.  But, on the track "Nanci", 
the group compare the relative merits of Nancy Griffith and Loretta 
Lynn while playing around with a country and western beat you can
bop along with.
	There are two kinds of Toad the Wet Sprocket fans; 
100,000 who bought _Fear_ before a hit single, and many times 
that number who were inspired to buy it based on the strength of 
the top 20 hit "All I Want".  For the first group, rejoice; Toad didn't
 sell out.  For the second, and larger group, the pull of the music 
lies in the acoustics.  Relax, and enjoy - your perception of _Dulcinea_ 
won't be of a Don Quixote homely townswoman, but of a beautiful album.


>From the desk of BOB GAJARSKY   




All reviews are written by Bob Gajarsky for Consumable Online.
 Consumable Online includes reviews, interviews, news, notes
 and more.  To have it automatically sent to your electronic
 mailbox, drop a line to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net.