Generic content without a future The Jones Gang - Any Day Now (AAO Music) 1 1/2 stars (out of 5 stars) Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2006

Review by Andy Argyrakis

In an age when rock and rollers of yesterday are found with their original band breaking up, a common trend is to form a super group of other musicians in the same situation stacked out with a series of session players. And that's exactly what the primary trio of The Jones Gang does, checking in slightly above the summer festival circuit given members' history, but not quite at the anticipated levels of their most prominent outlets when gearing up for a record.

Leading the line-up is drummer Kenney Jones, known for replacing Keith Moon in The Who, along with his role in co-founding The Small Faces, which morphed into The Faces with celebrity members Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart. Bassist Rick Wills also had his share of playing with rock and roll heavyweights, such as tour time with Roxy Music, a collaboration with Peter Frampton as part of his Frampton's Camel project, and spots in the reformations of The Small Faces, Foreigner and Bad Company. Singer Robert Hart is also known for time in Bad Company, replacing front man Paul Rogers for nearly half a decade, in addition to songwriting for other artists.

As appealing as this all looks on paper, their debut disc Any Day Now is plagued with problems from the starting chords of "The Time of Your Life." This kick off track and almost all the others that follow are filled with lofty intentions to channel classic rock through the current era, but unfortunately come up as sounding stale and out of place in today's modern era. Take for instance the harmony filled track "Mr. Brown," which could very well have come from any of Foreigner's discs in the early 90s and probably landed a spot on radio. But despite being appealing and crystal clear in production, it has no place on today's airwaves and sounds like the band was trying too hard relevance. "Lucy" follows the same pattern, landing between something Eddie Money and a softer Bad Company might release nowadays without the grinding guitars and true vintage grit of earlier years.

In place of such watered down results, the group may have been much better off revitalizing members' 70s/80s heyday with a more exact, true to form approach. Another option would be to explore somewhat more unpredictable avenues, which is apparent in a few instances like the roots rock jangle of "She'll Never Know" and the eclectic vibe of "Gypsy Lane," stacked by a cameo from Wood. But considering those are just a few pieces of the pie, Any Day Now leaves fans of everyone's more famous entities disappointed, new listeners disinterested due to the generic content and a future with little firm footing.