THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

This album sees SB continue the process, began with "Beware of Darkness" in making their albums more radio-friendly with more shorter and punchier tunes. I actually like this album better than "Beware of Darkness", but I admit they are really very similar in form and style. This begins with one of the best on the album, "The Good Don't Last", a great SB classic. Then come a number of shorter tunes. The best of these is "June", perhaps the only Neil Morse ballad I can actually listen to still. It is in face a lovely tune, and not at all preachy! (although, being Morse, it borders on sappy). "Strange World" and "Cakewalk on Easy Street" are decent, if leaning a bit mainstream. "Flow", which closes the album, is the longest track here, and it is great, almost as good as the long tunes on their debut. The two track I have a harder time with are "Mouth of Madness", which is too mainstream and forgettable, and even more, "Harm's Way", which I don't find sufficiently musical, even though there are some musical sections in it - but the main vocal themes are too sappy sounding for me. After multiple listens, on balance I give this album 7.1 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translate to 3 PA stars.