The Wallflowers are helplessly underrated leaving me to question why. I have been a fan since their first release The Wallflowers in 1992. Listening to their sound grow with every album you're able to witness the evolution of their sound and appreciate their commitment to quality. Rebel, Sweetheart is yet another great staple for a music lovers collection as it blends a deep acoustic sound with thoughtful lyrics. This album is sure to make new fans as well as please those of us who have been enjoying their sound for a while.

Don't know about you, but I didn't care much for their last album Red Letter Days. However, since I'm a fan of Jakob and company, I thought I would get The Wallflowers one more chance. Paired up with Brendan O'Brien pays off, and Rebel, Sweetheart is their best since Bringing Down The Horse, perhaps even better. The Wallflowers continue to play straight ahead rock and roll, and even if Jakob sounds more like Bruce than daddy Bobby, every song is handcrafted in the finest Rock sense. Most people would go for Tom Petty via way of Bruce songs such as Days Of Wonder or The Beautiful Side, actually my favorite songs come toward the end, with the ballad From The Bottom Of My Heart, a perfect song for that long drive home from work. I also enjoy the rocking Nearly Beloved and the slow dance How Far You've Come.

While their last album may have tried to please too many people, Rebel, Sweetheart returns to what the Wallflowers do best, make straight ahead rock and roll, just like they did back in the classic rock days. In fact, this record is so good, I played it twice in a row in one day, which says a lot. This is their comeback album. Grade A-

This is the best Wallflowers release to date and it is the best release I have heard this year (Amos Lee and Springsteen close behind.) The songs here show depth and character that we don't really get to see in music today. The range of sound here is perfect and the whole CD from beginning to end is a great listen. So put away your Killers, Green Day, and whatever else you have clogging your ears and listen an album that feels like the artists are deeply connected to their music and they care about what they are releasing. You have to give them credit they have consistantly put put great material.

The Wallflowers are a delight to listen to. If ever a dull moment manifests itself into your life, insert "Rebel, Sweetheart" into the nearest CD player and be prepared for a carnival of sounds. This is was songwriting is about. "You'd have a wonderful day if you could see how lucky you are. Don't get carried away with your heart. You're better where you are." After the less than stellar response "Red Letter Days" received, I feared The Wallflowers days as radio busters were numbered. And although they still may be, at least the music loving public has been blessed with one more outing by Dylan Jr. and his alliance of bandmates, together known as The Wallflowers.

The Wallflowers return with their 5th, and strongest, album. Each of the 12 songs are engaging, thought-provoking, melodic, and layered. Producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), brings his signature techniques to the album, layering the songs with various guitars, keys, and vocals. The textured sounds give the songs depth-each time you listen, you hear something new. Every song is written by Jakob Dylan, whose songwriting talents are in top form. The themes in the songs reflect the title of the album: a tension between fighting who & where you are vs. finding contentment in being that person in that place. Dylan paints a lot of situations where a fight is warranted. In "Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette)" an exploited puppet realizes there might be a way out, "They sing Auld Lang Syne/I've got mutiny on my mind." A song with a unique and catchy sound, "I Am A Building," portrays a character who is defeated, closed, & abandoned. But then sees things differently: "Things are looking clear now/My eyes are wide enough to see the way a sniper does." Or, in "Back to California," there's a promise of hope by returning to the way things were. Finally, in "From The Bottom of My Heart," a beautiful ballad with minimal instrumentation accompanying Dylan's honest vocals, we learn the lesson of the perseverance of "an army of one/Marching back up the steps/Into the rays of the sun." There are many ways to rebel. And then sometimes, it's best to accept. A stand out track, "We're Already There," is just one song that explores this side of acceptance. The most emotive song on the album, "God Says Nothing Back" rings of despair with the realization that neither God, time, love, nor death say anything back. The lesson is in the title of the song "How Far You've Come," with a message about altering our perspective instead of the world around us. And finally, "Nearly Beloved," a contradictory song: upbeat in tempo but full of struggle and acceptance suggests, "if we could do better I know that we would/Maybe admit it now/we're not that good."

While some may fight everything and err on the side of being always the rebel, others may resign themselves to accepting "whatever comes my way," this compilation of songs reminds us that it's more complex than that. Instead, there's a delicate and beautiful balance between resistance and acceptance. The beauty is in finding happiness in both roles ... perhaps when one both resists and accepts, they also find "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere." When a bunch of rock'n'roll songs, with catchy lines and foot-tapping melodies can teach us life lessons that profound, that is good music. The Wallflowers' Rebel, Sweetheart is superb music.