* The Why Store

THE WHY STORE

(Way Cool Music/MCA)

Like all the Black Crowes and Blues Travelers before them, the Why Store try their hardest to reach back in time, pulling late-'70s Southern soul into the brave new '90s. But unlike the Crowes or Popper's pack, they just don't get the job done. Mixing riffs unheard since Bread dismantled (later reuniting to record Extreme's "More Than Words") with Southern-fried acoustic tinges, the Why Store rely on making their sounds work instead of making more sense of mandolin solos, slide guitars, and lap steel.

"Nobody" sings sweetly to images of a drug-abused friendship, stopping along the way to pay credence to, well, Creedence. "Lack of Water" attempts to stretch these granola-induced imaginations of country soul, but placed after two minutes of silence, at the end of a rather dull collection, it's more annoying than surprising. The Why Store's cashier/lead vocalist, Chris Shaffer, should have spent more time restocking his ideas; he and his band need to think about the muzak they're playing and whether it will offend the customers.

-- Jonathan E. Vena