There have been jam bands before, but the sound on Blues Traveler’s debut album is fresh and invigorating. The music is not particularly bluesy, but it does borrow the improvisation over a fixed form style of modern blues. John Popper’s harmonica playing is excellent, and brings the oft-maligned instrument further into the pop spotlight than it has been since Chicago blues dominated the charts. His singing is not fantastic, but he is full of energy. His choice of melody is sometimes questionable, especially on the opening “But Anyway”, where that repeated line is repeated irritatingly. Kinchla, Sheehan, and Hill lay down some serious rhythm tracks and acquit themselves nicely in their few lead roles as well. The album’s best moment is on “100 Years”, where a soprano saxophone and background vocalist fill out the sound.