Live Stages

With a loping opening "Intro Jam" that bears more than passing resemblance to the meandering work of the late Jerry Garcia, Moses Guest alternates between tightly crafted, if innocuous, alternative Southern rock songs by singer/guitarist Graham Guest and obligatory improvisations that spiral up through the scales, ascending toward the final choruses. Owing much to '70s arena rock, Moses Guest manages to retain a feel of intimacy in its performances, recorded live in Colorado and Arkansas. The lyrics find occasional moments of wisdom inside the clichés. Most of the original material, though, is negligible, imagery pulled from a stock collection of songwriting truth. For genuine jam band authenticity, the band includes "I Know You Rider," a folk cover popularized by the Grateful Dead, with a fast shuffling arrangement just different enough to be fresh, but familiar enough so as not to offend the hippie traditionalists.