Reason To Live

On their first two albums, Sixty Watt Shaman proved themselves more than capable of competing on technical terms with America's top stoner rock bands, and yet, the group, due to some missing mystery ingredient, seemed equally incapable of standing out from the pack. This perplexing quandary isn't entirely solved by their third effort, 2002's jumbo-sized Reason to Live, but there's enough evidence of progress on tap to hint that this may soon be the case. Simply put, Sixty Watt Shaman bring as much confidence, musical chops, and songwriting diversity to the table as any of their equally hard rocking contemporaries, but they've yet to stumble upon that one monster tune that'll put them over the top. Until that day comes, their ultra-competent recipe for post-stoner rock spiced with Southern rock touches, and even alternative nuances, will have to do, and Reason to Live attempts to address any and all requirements over its whopping 16 tracks. Initially, its hour-long sprawl truly tests the listener's patience, but it doesn't take long for bright moments like the roaring opener "Nomad," the haunting "Long Hard Road," and the colossal grind of "All Things Come to Pass" to start peeking through its bulk. Conversely, workmanlike sub-Clutch exercises like "The Evil Behavior of Ordinary People" and the all-acoustic "The Mill Wheel" may have been best left on the cutting room floor; and there's absolutely no excuse for including a friggin' bass solo here (or anywhere else, for that matter) -- particularly one pretentiously named "All of My Love" -- who had that brilliant idea? Given these various clues, one can't help but try and imagine what would happen if Sixty Watt Shaman found a way to focus the energy and promise heard here into ten or 11 songs comprising a truly powerhouse album -- the answer may be just around the corner. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|