Of all the bands to survive the eighties crash and side step the noose of the nineties, here's a project in perseverance if ever there was one.

Enuff Z Nuff, one of those bands who quickly made waves and then just faded off into the background-yet they never went away.

So popular culture aside, good music's always gonna find its way… and though I'm no authority on the career of Enuff Z Nuff…

in fact I personally didn't buy into all their peace-toting, smiley-faced fluff, and then a couple of years ago, something quite surprising happened on my way to the fast forward button…

they impressed me!

The album was "Paraphernalia" and a couple of years ago I gave them even less of a chance than I do now, and I have to admit there was some pretty interesting stuff going on there-a real back to basics rock record that featured some impressive guest stars giving them the occasional boost.

So now ten albums since they began… didn't "Seven" just come out… like yesterday?

Most of what I'm hearing here is the same as I remember. I can't stand the first song-an album's defining moment doesn't need to begin with this sappy love song, in spite of The Beatlesque harmonies…

yes, they're very much the throwback, but they do better on songs two and three, "Fly Away" and "The Beast," both back to the groove I began to wonder about for a moment.

Overall, just hearing the first half, it's definitely a milder album than the last-high spirited and cushiony, maybe where they fit best anyway, but I expected…

no maybe it was more like hoping they'd come through with a little more punch.

This is their strong point though, the flighty harmonies and ballad-heavy dominance…

it's almost like listening to an extension of Cheap Trick in many ways-not that we needed to hear much more of them after "Dream Police" came out but…

and what have we at the end?

Could it be… a cover of "Everything Works if you Let it?"

Sure enough… and one Billy Corgan, he formerly of some fame, I believe as a singer, lending his chops on the lead guitar… and don't sweat it Billy, we can hear you!

"Wake Up" has an effective guitar crunch that buzzes forth every now and again during the chorus, while "What Can I Do?" is like a tracer shot right in the middle of the acoustics!

"Suicide" is a gentle bore that weaves back and forth like granny's rocker, while "All Right" is again, Cheap Trick's patented pop-heavy mid-range rock of the nameless years…

"Ten," however much I begrudge it for the stand alone record it is, isn't bad and is probably representative of Donnie and Chip and the boys in their comfort zone…

walking on air, happy go lucky hipsters strolling along the avenue and just doing what they do.

"Paraphernalia" was better on many levels but I think that was just one of those things where the stars were just all in alignment and something special was destined to come out of those sessions…

so "Ten" to me, is pretty flat as a follow up, but an okay record that maintains the overall strengths of this band who've done more records than many others probably thought they'd ever come close to.

Released by Spitfire Records.
Website: http://www.SpifireRecords.com

Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]