Hair

It's easy for an older rock fan to enjoy a track like the opener, "Just Don't Know," from the Lonely H's Hair, a track that draws heavily from classic rock without sounding overly derivative. At just over three minutes, the vocal, harmony, and big chords come together so effectively that they'll restore one's faith in the kind of rock that seemed to have passed from the scene in 1977. The acoustic-based "Rollin'" and upbeat rock of "Yeah, Yeah" create a similar vibe. A photo of the band, each of the five members topped with a resplendent head of hair, also seems to hark back to the '60s and '70s, a fact reinforced by the album's title. Other cuts — like "The Meal" and the title cut — sound more contemporary, but even here, the guitar work of Eric Whitman and Colin Field is grounded in an earlier era. Backed by these guitarists along with a rhythm section made up of drummer Ben Eyestone and bassist Johnny Whitman, Mark Fredson puts these songs across with a great deal of confidence. The Lonely H also reveal themselves to be ambitious on "The Drought," a multi-part song partly in the tradition of Queen and extended for eight minutes. "The Drought," however, lacks the spark or cohesion of a good Queen mini-opera, and has the effect of weighing Hair down four songs in. The remainder of the album veers from the heavier rock of "For Barbara" to the keyboard-based pop of "Captain." While the material on Hair lacks consistency and is perhaps too eclectic to fit together, the Lonely H deliver solid performances that should please fans of the group's first CD, Kick Upstairs. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi