"In Light Syrup" Toad the Wet Sprocket (Columbia)

     Even diehard fans should think twice about this one.
     Toad the Wet Sprocket's "In Light Syrup" is a collection of rarities
thrown together in a blatant attempt to carve out a slice of the
pre-holiday cash bonanza.
     Not a very exciting group to begin with, Toad sounds particularly
bland on this low-quality collection of soundtrack songs, bonus tracks from
singles and assorted other ditties not on the band's domestic albums.
     The best in the bunch is the atmospherically ponderous "Are We Afraid"
(previously made available only to those on the Toad mailing list) followed
by the detached "Hope" (from the international version of the album
"Dulcinea").
     Minor attractions are the neo-alternative soundtrack songs--"Brother"
(from "So I Married an Axe Murderer"), "Little Heaven" (from "Buffy the
Vampire Slayer") and "Good Intentions" (from the recently released
"Friends" soundtrack).
     But this drab album also captures Toad at its whiny worst--from the
mopey 1989 song "All She Said" to the never-before-released "Janitor."
     It's hard enough to understand the appeal this modestly talented band
has with its legitimate albums, so a flood of support for a collection of
the group's cast-off songs is incomprehensible.
     Rating: * *

		-- Chuck Campbell

the newspaper is The Knoxville News-Sentinel, email addy is:
		kns@knoxnews.com
www: <a href= "http://www.knoxnews.com/">http://www.knoxnews.com</a>