this one

a good start, but still ailing

Sounds of Medicine (American Recordings)

Medicine

By Kevin Gibson

When I first kicked this CD into the player, a smooth, female voice serenaded me to the accompaniment of a smoky guitar riff and a soulful bass line.

The first time through "Time Baby 3," the leadoff cut of Medicine's six-song EP Sounds of Medicine, I knew I'd stumbled onto something good.

Unfortunately, the rest of this short collection fails to live up to the standard set by the first cut. Instead of the cool, melodic guitar, Medicine resorts to noise and psychedelia the rest of the way and never seems to complete a thought or a point.

"Little Slut," for instance, the fourth cut on the CD, exists as about a one-and-a-half-minute feedback session, and to be truthful, many of the other tracks don't progress much farther.

Still, "She Knows Everything" taps into the potential shown in the first cut. If this Californian trio keeps plugging away and shows it can sustain that potential over the duration of a full-length album, look out.

Even Babe Ruth probably didn't hit a home run his first time at bat.