Dreamtown

mixed bag, Dreamtown finds Jango fluctuating between adult contemporary vocals and pop-jazz instrumentals -- some of which are OK, some of which are devoid of taste and integrity. The vocal material, which recalls '70s soft rock, isn't bad -- "City of the Second Chance" and the title song have a likable Steely Dan-ish quality, while "How Long" revives Ace's 1975 smash with pleasing results. Meanwhile, the instrumentals range from the decent to the dreadful. Jango stoops to playing outright elevator muzak on soulless, unlistenable schlock like "Driftin'" and "With Your Love (Victor's Song)," a tune that the late vibist Victor Feldman wrote after going commercial. But the group has a more worthwhile instrumental in "King's Road." Though the tune is marred by excessive production, it's certainly more substantial than "Driftin'." When you add everything up, Dreamtown is evenly divided between plusses than minuses. This CD indicated that if the group avoided excessive producing and steered clear of shameless elevator muzak, the plusses might win out on future efforts. ~ Alex Henderson|